An overarching agreement at the UN climate change talks in Copenhagen looks more 'do-able' following a meeting of leading developed and emerging economies, according to Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband.

 

The two-day meeting of the Major Economies Forum (MEF) which brought together ministers from 17 countries for informal talks on areas such as finance, technology, mitigation and improved transparency, was aimed at narrowing differences between countries ahead of the UN meeting that begins on 7 December.

 

Speaking after the meeting, Mr Miliband said: 'There is significantly further to go, this is absolutely not a done deal. It remains in the balance but I feel today this feels a more do-able proposition than it was yesterday. I think that represents progress.'

 

With fewer than 50 days until Copenhagen, he said countries were acutely aware of the need to actively negotiate to strike an agreement. The MEF meetings had shown a 'spirit of engagement, a spirit of willingness and a spirit of determination' that now was not the 'time to falter', he said.

 

His American counterpart, Todd Stern, the US Special Envoy for Climate Change, echoed this, saying there was a 'lot of work to do' but that the MEF meeting had been 'constructive'.

 

Both said the challenge between now and Copenhagen was to get agreements on individual targets for developed countries for reducing emissions and on the actions that developing countries need to take.

 

'Personally speaking I don't think we will have a substantial outcome from Copenhagen if we don’t have numbers,' Mr Miliband said. 'I got the feeling around the table that people want a comprehensive agreement…that needs to include numbers.'

 

He stressed that MEF was never expected to agree precise numbers as it was outside the official negotiations. But he said he was encouraged that developing countries were making new commitments 'all the time'.

 

He cited Indonesia's target of 26% deviation from business-as-usual (BAU) by 2020, the promise by President Hu of China to make a 'substantial commitment' on carbon intensity and Indian plans for domestic laws on climate actions.

 

'I think the deadline is really concentrating minds and producing significant action. There is a feeling from all countries that this is an 'I will if you will' situation and that there needs to be a transparent sense in which countries see what each other is doing.'

 

Mr Stern said there was no expectation that developing countries should set targets for emissions reductions as developed countries must do. He said those countries needed to take action to reduce emissions relative to BAU.
But he said a key issue would be producing registries or annexes that laid out those commitments. 'In terms of countries' willingness to stand behind whatever they have said they are doing there can’t be differentiation. On that point we still have work to do.'

 

Another key area was climate finance – the money poorer nations will need to adapt to climate change and move to low-carbon growth.

 

Mr Miliband said: 'If we get an ambitious outcome in terms of the commitments that countries are willing to enter into, then I think it is important that finance is part of that.'

 

'It is right in a decision on how to use new resources [from a global deal] some of them are used to get developing countries to take action so that they are part of an agreement.'

 

He said the $100bn a year figure suggested by Prime Minister Gordon Brown in June was emerging as the 'centre of gravity' for the discussions.

 

Earlier ministers heard the Prime Minister warn of a global 'catastrophe' if present trends continued. 'If we do not reach a deal at this time, let us be in no doubt: once the damage from unchecked emissions growth is done, no retrospective global agreement, in some future period, can undo that choice,' he said. 'By then it will be irretrievably too late.'

 

Members of the MEF are Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the EU, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, the UK, and US.

 

Vulnerable countries including Algeria, Bangladesh, Lesotho, Costa Rica, Maldives, and Ethiopia attended the meeting.

 

Looking forward, Mr Miliband said there was a 'universal view' counties needed to get an agreement in Copenhagen. 'We've come a long way and we intend to translate that into an agreement by the end of the year. 'I think it is really important that we are not in Plan B territory. This deadline has concentrated minds and I think it is important that we strain every sinew to get an agreement in December. People at the meeting were talking about Plan A and I think that’s encouraging.'

 

Related links

Download the Chair's summary, PDF 87.50KB

Chair's Summary: Fifth Meeting of the Leaders' Representatives of the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate, U.S department of state 20 October 2009