Beginning of the End or End of the Beginning? An Analysis of the 19th Conference of the Parties

摘要

COP-19 marked the halfway point in the process begun in 2011 to negotiate a new global agreement by 2015. Its outcomes signal the end of the initial high-level consideration of what might be in a new agreement, and the beginning of the endgame of negotiating a new treaty. Despite its accomplishments, there was an underlying theme throughout COP-19 that not enough was being done-as exemplified by the walkout by environmental groups over a perceived lack of meaningful progress in the negotiations, warnings by various international bodies that the world was increasingly unlikely to be able to limit projected global temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius, and a fast by a Philippine delegate until a "meaningful outcome" was achieved. The Parties will need to increase their efforts significantly if the 2015 meetings in Paris are to end successfully.