Week Two at COP21: Draft Text Released and Secretary Kerry Takes on Active Role
A series of drafts of the Paris climate agreement text were released this week, as negotiators worked toward a deadline to agree on the final text by the weekend.
A draft released Thursday by the UNFCCC (12/10) was trimmed to 27 pages from nearly 50 pages last week.
The Guardian’s COP21 live blog reported on main changes in the new text and offered analysis.
Secretary of State John Kerry returned to Paris for the second week of negotiations, making numerous appearances and statements.
In a speech Wednesday (12/9), Kerry announced that the U.S. would join the High Ambition Coalition, a group of countries pushing for an ambitious, durable climate agreement.
The Guardian (12/9) reports the coalition is made up of 79 African, Caribbean and Pacific countries, the U.S. and all of the EU member states.
The New York Times (12/9) covered Kerry’s announcement Wednesday of a proposal to double U.S. grant-based public finance for climate-change adaptation by 2020 to $860 million, from $430 million.
In an interview with Mashable (12/8), Kerry said the U.S. is in favor of incorporating a 1.5-degree Celsius aspirational warming limit into the climate agreement as long as it doesn’t replace the previously agreed-upon 2-degree target. Kerry also said the U.S. is pushing for language that provides for all countries to contribute to countries affected by climate change.
The Guardian (12/7) writes that China, Canada, and the EU also support the 1.5-degree Celsius goal.
The State Department (12/8) published transcripts of Secretary Kerry’s post-meeting remarks with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, his speech at the UN Foundation’s Breakfast on Oceans, and his remarks at the Caring for Climate Business Forum.
A comprehensive list of recent climate funding announcements can be found at the UNFCCC newsroom.
