WWF’s global deal goals
In Copenhagen in December 2009, the 190-country Conference of the Parties (COP) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is expected to adopt a new international agreement setting out how the world will tackle the growing climate crisis.
A new global deal will need to be sufficiently ambitious to ensure a safe climate, through setting targets for industrialised countries and introducing robust mechanisms to cut emissions of greenhouse gas emissions. Crucially, it must also set out plans for how to adapt to the already inevitable impacts of a warmer world, and introduce a new system to reward developing countries for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. In addition, a new global deal must have fairness and equity at its heart: it must include mechanisms for financial assistance for the poorest countries and an agreement on technology transfer and access – both of which are vital to help developing countries reduce emissions and adapt to climate change.
WWF's vision for a new global deal can be summarised as follows:
- a binding and equitable climate treaty that enters into force in 2013, to ensure that global greenhouse gas emissions peak and start on a downward path well before 2020, and fall steeply thereafter
- the establishment of a robust global carbon market and other financial mechanisms that promote clean energy investment in developing countries, support adaptation in least developed countries, and deliver deep emissions reductions within industrialised countries
- agreement on extended technology transfer, trade and investment to serve the needs of developing countries and pave the way to low-carbon development
- a credible framework to ensure that emissions from deforestation and degradation in developing countries are drastically reduced, while respecting the rights and access of indigenous people and local communities to forest resources
- a strong commitment to secure predictable and sustainable finance and resources to help vulnerable developing countries to adapt where possible to the already inevitable impacts of climate change.