Carmen Bunzl - Universidad Pontificia Comillas

Summary ii
Summary
The objective of this project is to carry out a report providing an overview of
the current status of international negotiations on the future climate change
regime; to identify and evaluate the various proposals currently being
considered for the future agreement on climate change; to examine the likely
implications of these potential agreements, in particular for Spain; and to
express an opinion on the architecture that, based on the aforementioned, is
considered preferable.
International negotiations have lead to first steps in combating climate
change with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol. Under the Protocol, industrialized countries
have to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by around five per cent
between 2008 and 2012 compared to 1990 levels. It is however broadly
recognized that further steps are necessary to stabilize the climate in the long
term. An appropriate stabilization target for GHG concentrations would be 450-
500 ppmv CO2eq.; this would require a cut in all GHG emissions of around 50%
by 2050, relative to 1990 emission levels. Developed countries, together with
other interim targets, should commit to cutting emissions by 80-90% from 1990
levels by 2050.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) sent a clear signal
from science after the release of its three reports in 2007, which combined with
the mobilization of political will at the highest level, lead to the breakthrough at
the Bali Climate Change Conference in December. Both developed and
developing countries agreed to jointly step up efforts to combat climate change
and launch negotiations on a new climate change deal to be concluded in
Copenhagen by the end of 2009.
The potential shape and structure of an international agreement – its
architecture – needs to be agreed on. The challenges on the road to Copenhagen
are enormous: negotiating deepened commitments for those countries that are