UN climate summit seeks to cut carbon emissions

UN climate summit seeks to cut carbon emissions
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Highlights

UN climate summit seeks to cut carbon emissions, Negotiations have been ongoing for 20 years, as the UN continues to bring its member countries together to help curb the damaging effects of coal burning and gasoline use, among other sources of pollution.

Prakash Javadekar leads 17- member team to push for solid action from developed countries

Lima (Peru): Officials from over 190 nations, including India, on Monday converged here at the UN climate summit to negotiate on a new ambitious and binding deal to cut global carbon emissions, in the last chance to reach on a historic deal to be signed next year in Paris.

Negotiations have been ongoing for 20 years, as the UN continues to bring its member countries together to help curb the damaging effects of coal burning and gasoline use, among other sources of pollution.

During the 12-day summit in the Peruvian capital, countries will put forward what they plan to contribute to the 2015 pact in the form of Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) by the first quarter of 2015, well in advance of the Paris conference in December.

The Lima conference needs to provide final clarity on what the INDCs need to contain, including for developing countries who are likely to have a range of options from, for example, sector-wide emission curbs to energy intensity goals.

Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar leads India’s 17- member delegation to negotiate terms for the final agreement to be signed in Paris, which will take effect in 2020. The overarching goal of the Peru summit, which may stretch beyond 12 days if issues remain unresolved, is to have domestic plans in place to reduce emissions, which they would be held to once the Paris 2015 agreement is signed.

In previous years, agreements like the 1997 Kyoto Protocol did not require countries like India and China to commit to any cuts, but that has changed in light of emissions rates and economic growth.

The summit comes weeks after US President Barack Obama and his Chinese counterpart signed a historic deal in November under which the US would reduce emissions by 28 per cent by 2025 and China would reduce emissions by 2030.

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