Political will for a climate change deal at international negotiations in Paris next month is unprecedented, according to the president of last year’s climate summit.
Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, environment minister Peru, which hosted the UN climate talks in Lima, said that he was optimistic for a deal in Paris.
“There’s never been such political will as we have today,” he said. “Developed countries and emerging economies are in agreement and are driving the agenda forward.”
World leaders including Barack Obama, Xi Jinping and Narendra Modi are due to meet in Paris next Monday for a fortnight of talks to agree on emissions cuts beyond 2020 and financing poorer countries to cope with global warming.
Pulgar-Vidal told the Guardian that Lima had laid important groundwork for Paris. “The COP20 [Lima] was a success, if it had been a failure the COP21 [Paris] would not have been possible.”
The agreement in Lima, widely viewed as an imperfect but functional compromise, ensured that all countries, rich and poor, would pledge action on climate change. The Paris agreement, unlike the the legally-binding Kyoto protocol, will apply to rich and poor countries. Both rich and poor countries did put forward pledges to cut emissions by 2020 following 2009 summit in Copenhagen, but they were only voluntary.
Ahead of Paris, developed and developing countries representing more than 90% of emissions have submitted their emissions pledges for post-2020. On Monday, Iran became the latest country to submit its plan to the UN, saying it would cut business-as-usual emissions 4% by 2030.
Peru’s emissions in 2010 accounted for only 0.3% of global emissions, yet it has seven of the nine characteristics recognised by the UN to describe a country as “particularly vulnerable.” It has pledged a reduction by 20% below business-as-usual emissions by 2030, aiming for 30% with financial backing.
But its emissions could soar as deforestation in the Amazon increases, according to Climate Action Tracker analysis. With 69m hectares (170m acres) of rainforest covering more than 60% of the country, Peru is home to the second largest Amazon block after Brazil.
“We still have problems with deforestation, much of this is to do with the perverse incentives of the past” said Pulgar-Vidal, referring to powers given to Amazon regions for ‘land-use change’ allowing forest to be felled for palm oil plantations and other agriculture. Lax controls mean there is still rampant illegal logging and illegal mining.
