International climate protection for the post-2012 period

The Kyoto Protocol is the single most important instrument of international climate policy to date. However, the developed countries only committed to emissions reductions from 2008 to 2012 (so-called first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol). Binding efforts for the period after 2012 have not been agreed on so far. The Kyoto Protocol is only the first step in a lengthy progress also with regard to the emissions reductions necessary to achieve the goal of limiting the rise in temperature to 2°C. According to calculations by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), industrialised countries must reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 80 to 95% by 2050 compared to 1990 levels – the Kyoto Protocol only covers 5%.

In addition, the 2°C target cannot be achieved without the commitment of the world's biggest emitters. The US, the largest emitter among the industrialised countries has still not ratified the Kyoto Protocol. And the major newly industrialising countries with their continuously increasing emissions (China has succeeded the US as largest emitter worldwide in 2009) have not made any binding commitments at all in line with the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities.

Launch of negotiations on post-2012 climate protection agreement

At the Bali climate change conference (COP 13) in December 2007, the international community agreed to launch negotiations on the post-2012 international climate protection regime, so that efforts for climate protection continue beyond the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol.

In this Bali Action Plan the Parties to the Framework Convention on Climate Change agreed to negotiate issues such as concrete commitments and contributions from all countries to emission reductions (including a reduction of deforestation), adaptation, technology and financing up to and beyond 2012.

All developed and developing countries agreed in Bali to combat climate change cooperatively and more intensively than in the past. For the first time the developing countries declared their willingness to take nationally appropriate measurable, reported and verifiable mitigation actions, supported and enabled by technology, financing and capacity building. During the negotiations on future obligations for industrialised countries under the Kyoto Protocol, an emission reduction of 25 to 40% by 2020 compared to 1990 was considered. The requirements for all industrialised countries, including the US, should be comparable. Thus the level of ambition for the negotiations has been set.

The post-2012 climate protection regime was negotiated in several rounds during 2008 and 2009. Discussions took place in two negotiating tracks: the Ad Hoc Working Group on Further Commitments for Annex I Parties under the Kyoto Protocol (AWG KP) negotiated future reduction commitments of industrialised countries, and the Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action under the Convention (AWG-LCA) negotiated emission reduction contributions of all countries, i.e. from the US and the major industrialising countries, to the future climate regime.

No breakthrough at the Copenhagen climate change conference

The negotiations on the post-2012 climate protection regime were originally due to be concluded at the Copenhagen climate change conference (COP 15) in December 2009. However, following very difficult negotiations COP 15 only achieved a political agreement, the Copenhagen Accord, which lists some key elements of future climate protection policy. The Accord is not binding and was only taken note of by the meeting of the conference of the parties.

Gemany's and the EU's aim to adopt a new comprehensive and legally binding post-2012 climate protection agreement was not achieved. Nevertheless, it is a step in the right direction. More than 140 countries (including the EU Member States) have declared their formal support for the Copenhagen Accord. Numerous industrialised and developing countries have submitted specific emission reduction targets for 2020.

It was also decided in Copenhagen that the negotiations in the two parallel working groups under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol should be continued on the basis of the existing negotiating texts until the next Climate Change Conference in Cancun.

German drives forward the climate negotiation process - Petersberg Climate Dialogue in May 2010

At the climate change conference in Copenhagen Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel announced an environmental minister conference in summer 2010 in order to advance the negotiation process. This conference, the Petersberg Climate Dialogue, took place at the Petersberg in Bonn from 2 to 4 May 2010. Together with Mexico, the host and presidency of the climate change conference in 2010 (COP 16), Germany invited environmental ministers from around 45 countries. All groups of countries participating in the UN climate change negotiations were represented. Federal Environment Minister Röttgen and his Mexican colleague Elvira jointly chaired the conference.

The conference succeeded in giving new momentum to international climate discussions and new impetus for the UN climate negotiations of 2010. Through informal talks at the Petersberg Climate Dialogue, the ministers succeeded in determining a political position and in providing political direction for the climate conference in Mexico. All participants agreed that an ambitious new climate regime remains the target of UN negotiations. There was also consensus that, in addition to negotiations, climate protection measures must be implemented swiftly. A range of countries presented climate protection initiatives that can serve as models for further, concrete cooperation between developing and developed countries in the field of climate protection. These initiatives include measures on reducing deforestation in developing countries or enhanced technological cooperation. At the meeting Germany, together with South Africa and South Korea, launched an initiative to support developing countries in elaborating environmentally sound and climate-friendly growth strategies. Implementation of these strategies must be transparent, measurable and comprehensible.

United Nations proves ability to act: Climate change conference in Cancun

The climate change conference (COP 16) in Cancun, Mexico, took place from 29 November to 10 December 2010. Despite difficult negotiations, a package of decisions was adopted at the end of the two-week conference - the Cancun Agreements. These lay down the contents of the Copenhagen Accord in United Nations decisions, and in some cases also go beyond this. For the first time, a UN decision recognises the 2°C target. The Cancun Agreements set out the reduction pledges of industrialised and developing countries, and define a work programme for reporting and verifying reduction measures in industrialised and developing countries, thus increasing transparency. A new Green Climate Fund was established in Cancun. Additionally, structures were agreed on for assisting developing countries with adaptation to the impacts of climate change, with forest conservation and the deployment of climate-friendly technologies. Under the excellent lead of Mexico the international community demonstrated its ability to act on international climate policy in Cancun. It agreed on a comprehensive programme of measures for the practical implementation of climate protection and the development of the global regulatory framework. The Cancun conference was unable to answer the key political questions regarding the legal form a future climate agreement should take or the role a second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol will play.

Outlook - international climate negotiations in 2011

The next climate change conference will take place from 28 November to 9 December 2011 in Durban, South Africa. In the run-up to the conference four preparatory negotiation rounds at the working level are planned. The first one will take place in Bangkok, Thailand, in early April, followed by another round in Bonn in June. In Bangkok, delegates will start to implement the specific tasks decided on in Cancun. Another issue will be the form of the future climate agreement.

The goal of the German government and the EU for the international climate protection process remains the same: the conclusion of a legally binding post-2012 climate protection regime limiting the average global rise in temperature to 2° Celsius compared with preindustrial levels.