After Copenhagen, where to now?

The most important meeting to date in the history of mankind, the 15th meeting of the COP-Conference of the Parties in Copenhagen, Denmark in December 2009, ended without any legally binding agreement on climate change.
According to National Environment Service officer Pasha Carruthers who was there, it was not the result the Cook Islands wanted.
The conference ended with a draft Accord issued on 18 December 2009, which contains provisions which are voluntary and non-enforceable. It contains just 12 clauses. Countries must indicate by 31 January 2010 whether they will agree to the Accord (see copy on page 17 ).
So, given the urgency to tackle climate change and ensure our very survival, the big question is, where to from here?
According to Carruthers the provisions of the Accord which are very general, open to interpretation and in some parts vague, need to be analyzed and then a decision needs to be made as to whether the Cook Islands will agree to it.
Carruthers says there will be a meeting on Wednesday to discuss the Accord and by the end of the day a picture will emerge as to what our “official” stance should be. This will then be submitted to Cabinet for consideration.
Dealing with a non-specific, non-enforceable document is not easy. The Accord mentions financial assistance to small island states and developing countries for adaptation and mitigation to climate change but is not clear where the funds are coming from, where they will be deposited, who will manage the funds and how access will be gained.
Carruthers says it will not be mandatory to agree to the Accord before accessing funds. There is an exception for small island states for mitigation actions.
The Accord is not binding in terms of the degree of warming allowable for instance, is it 2 degrees C or less than 2?
Some wealthy nations such as in the Middle East who have made fortunes from fossil fuels which have in turn affected our atmosphere, now want to be assisted in the event of “economic” losses due to the downturn in the demand for fossil fuels and the move to forms of sustainable energy. Carruthers says this does not equate to our situation where whole islands may disappear and we are concerned about our very survival.
Carruthers advises that while nations are beginning to indicate whether or not they agree to the Accord, the Accord itself cannot be recognised until the next COP which will be the 16th, in Mexico in December 2010. There will be a preparatory meeting in June. There will be a meeting of the OASIS-small island states, in New York in February 2010 to discuss the Accord but no details have been released yet. It is not known if the Cook Islands will attend.
Asked if the Cooks will seek to adopt the position taken up by the OASIS, Carruthers said the Cooks can state its own view.
In a nutshell then, at Copenhagen, the Cook Islands sought a legally binding agreement and the Accord does not provide this. The Accord has terms and conditions that are voluntary. We seek to develop an agreement which covers four main issues-adaptation, mitigation, technical transfer and finance. The feeling was work on these matters was being undermined by the Accord. There will be pressure to reach a better or legal agreement at the next COP in Mexico.
So which nations have agreed to the Accord so far? Carruthers advises four have agreed so far with Cuba disagreeing. She understands that PNG, the Maldives and the UK have agreed to the Accord and that New Zealand will not be agreeing due to some issues over forestry.

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