􀀗 The build-up to the Copenhagen climate
summit in December has already
created significant policy momentum
􀀗 Yet differences remain over the extent
of greenhouse gas emission reductions
to be made by 2020 – and over who will
pay for action in the developing world
􀀗 We highlight the key points in the
negotiations and outline the elements of
a framework agreement that could be
struck, with details thrashed out in 2010
The Copenhagen stimulus
The Copenhagen climate conference to be held from 7-18
December will mark the culmination of nearly two years of
accelerating political, business and social action – which has,
if anything, been accentuated by the global economic crisis.
In this report, the first of our series evaluating the implications
of Copenhagen for global business and investment, we review
the critical issues underlying the negotiations.
We argue that since negotiations started at the end of 2007
policy action has intensified across the world – taking us
close to a reasonable deal in Copenhagen that could then be
deepened later. But the undertow of global emissions
continues on a remorselessly upward trend, and key
differences remain over medium-term cuts by 2020 and the
finance required to protect developing countries from
climate impacts, and shift their economic trajectory onto a
low-carbon pathway.
We highlight 10 critical issues to monitor in the run-up to
and beyond Copenhagen and lay out a roadmap for the final
countdown to a decisive fortnight in Copenhagen. We
suggest that one way of reaching agreement in Copenhagen
is not to view climate action as a burden to be shared, but as
a global economic opportunity to be seized. This could
mean, for example, presenting the critical issue of boosting
public finance for low-carbon growth in developing
countries as an international extension of this year’s ‘green
recovery’ agenda: the Copenhagen stimulus.