The most recent November 2013 United Nation’s Climate Change Conference in Warsaw, Poland unfortunately made little progress in tackling environmental concerns. Tensions were high throughout the talks, including a 30-hour-long deadlock. With such a disappointing outcome in 2013, many have set their hopes on the December 2014 United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference that will occur in Lima, Peru.1
Outcome of 2013 Conference
The Warsaw talks had several hurtles. First, the Polish government, which was chairing the talks, was criticized for being too closely connected to the industry. These criticisms led to the Polish environment minister being fired in the middle of the talks.2 Second, the talks inevitably came to a standstill when attempting to address a question that has plagued climate conferences for decades now: should developed and developing countries be held to the same climate standards? While the developed countries want climate goals to apply to all countries, emerging market countries such as India, China, and Venezuela, do not. In fact, the 30-hour standoff centered on the very word “commitments.” The emerging market countries did not like the inflexibility of the word “commitments,” so after some negotiation it was changed to “contributions.”3
Third, with the growing frequency of natural disasters, developing countries also pushed for a loss-and-damage mechanism, which would act as a financial safety net.4 “Loss and damage” refers to issues that arise as a result of changing climate, such as displacement of communities due to flooding. Developing countries are often most impacted by the negative impacts of and want compensation from developed countries.5 While developed countries were not in favor of this idea, it was added to the text, but not to the full extent that developing countries wanted it to be.6
Preview for Peru
So, what is in store for Peru in 2014? Peru has long been a leading advocate for taking steps to combat climate change. In 2008, it was the first developing nation to make a voluntary by 2020.7 Therefore, as a middle-sized but active country, Peru is in the ideal position of being able to be a bridge between the developing and developed countries and move the debate away from polarization. Furthermore, within the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, Peru is part of the Association of Independent Latin American and Caribbean States, along with Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Panama. The goal of this association is to convince both developed and developing countries that ambitious climate change action needs to be taken on both sides and that there should be a legally binding agreement to ensure accountability.8
https://web.archive.org/web/20160404105236if_/http://www.youtube.com/embed/GLWmTjxgzho ii
In order for the climate talks to be productive and efficient in December 2014, Peru needs to begin preparing and managing negotiations now. In 2010, Mexico extensively prepared for their conference and the hard work paid off. With Mexico’s template in mind, there are several strategies that Peru can pursue to set-up the talks. First, Peru and the European Union (EU) already share similar views on the need for more ambitious action and Peru should use the EU as an ally to increase global confidence in this viewpoint.9 Second, Peru should also begin to facilitate discussions between the world’s largest developed nation emitters – the United States, Japan, Australia, and Canada – and the emerging countries with increasingly heavy emissions – Brazil, China, India, and South Africa.10 Third, Peru needs to maintain positive relationships with the least developed nations—which are most vulnerable to —in order to ensure their active participation in the talks come next December.11
Fourth, when Mexico was facilitating their conference, they were very active in the Cartagena Dialogue for Progressive Action. The Cartagena Dialogue is an informal space where countries dedicated to ambitious global and domestic action towards climate change issues can exchange ideas. Peru should use this space to begin hashing out ideas with like-minded countries and to guide rhetoric.12 Lastly, Peru’s viewpoint that all countries need to take action to reduce emissions, even if it is to varying degrees, is essential for building a strong climate deal in Paris 2015. They should continue to promote that viewpoint in the upcoming months.13
Many of the issues dealt with in Warsaw foreshadow the issues that will reemerge in Lima and then again at much higher stakes in Paris in 2015.14 A great deal is riding on a productive conference in Peru because a new global climate deal will be created at the conference in Paris in 2015. However, by being proactive in the upcoming months, Peru can avoid a stagnant conference in December and pave the way for the new global climate treaty.
