Copenhagen accord: Miliband attacks China
Updated on 21 December 2009
Climate change secretary Ed Miliband criticises China for scuppering plans for a binding commitment to reduce emissions at Copenhagen, as the government promises to continue pressing for a tougher deal.
The final Copenhagen "accord", agreed after two weeks of negotiations at the UN-run summit, includes international backing for an overall limit of two degrees on global warming by 2050, but does not make a specific commitment to achieving it.
China "vetoed" an agreement on 50 per cent reductions in global emissions by 2050 and on 80 per cent reductions by developed countries, against the wishes of the majority of developed and developing countries, said Miliband.
He blamed the failure to get the political accord to lead to a binding outcome on "some leading developing countries", who currently refuse to countenance an agreement that is legally binding across the world.
Writing in The Guardian, he acknowledged the negotiations had presented a "farcical" picture to the public.
"We cannot again allow negotiations on real points of substance to be hijacked in this way," he said.
"We will need to have major reform of the UN body overseeing the negotiations and of the way the negotiations are conducted."
He also called on other countries to take action.
"We must work to ensure that developed nations in particular, such as Australia, Japan and the EU nations, deliver on the highest possible emissions cuts," he said.
"And as the US Senate considers its legislation, it is important it delivers not just the 17 per cent reductions offered so far but the deepest possible."
However, Miliband still said it was right to sign the accord, rather than walk away from the progress made, including the finance for developing countries.
Every nation is now supposed to submit its plan to reduce emissions by the end of January 2010.
Developed countries have agreed to provide $30bn over the next three years to help poorer countries adapt and reduce emissions, and are committed to working towards providing long-term financing of $100bn a year by 2020.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who spent four days in Copenhagen trying to secure a deal, described the agreement as a "vital first step", but said more work was needed.
In a webcast to be posted on the Number 10 site, he echoes Miliband's frustrations with a minority of countries, and pledged to continue pressing for a binding deal.
"Never again should we face the deadlock that threatened to pull down those talks; never again should we let a global deal to move towards a greener future be held to ransom by only a handful of countries," he said.
"One of the frustrations for me was the lack of a global body with the sole responsibility for environmental stewardship.
"I believe that in 2010 we will need to look at reforming our international institutions to meet the common challenges we face as a global community."
Speaking from Scotland via video link to a group of NGOs, campaigners and businesses, Brown said he could not hide his disappointment not to have got the climate change treaty.
"I am still determined to get a climate change treaty," he said. "This is the big internationally legally binding agreements on which we can ensure progress will be made. Only a few countries are standing out against."
Part of the next step was, over next month and a half, to persuade countries that they should submit ambitious and upper-end-of-the-range targets to cut emissions, he said.
