Posted on December, 12 2015

“By including a long-term temperature goal of well below 2°C of warming with a reference to a 1.5°C goal, the latest draft text sends a strong signal that governments are committed to being in line with science. What we need now is for their actions, including emission reductions and finance, to add up to delivering on that goal.

There are opportunities to do so built in the agreement – such as the facilitative dialogue in 2018 - that should be used to update current country pledges, and then further opportunities after 2020. Finance and emissions reductions pledges will need to be enhanced in a fair manner before 2020 to stand any chance of achieving the long term goal.
 
“A big concern is that there’s no guarantee of assistance for those who will suffer from immediate climate impacts, especially the poor and the vulnerable.
 
“The agreement does contain elements that create the opportunity to make governments actions stronger and stronger over time, in terms of mitigation, adaptation and finance. This is critical.”