Negotiators released a new, shorter draft of an international accord to fight global warming Wednesday, December 9 — and it leaves key issues unresolved just one days before the high-stakes talks in Paris are scheduled to end, the Associated Press reports.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry challenged diplomats to reach agreement by Friday's self-imposed deadline, promising American funding for countries hit hardest by the rising seas and extreme weather that scientists attribute to man-made emissions.
The new draft released by the UN climate agency is 29 pages, down from a 43-page version issued Saturday. There are about 100 places where there are decisions still to be made, including multiple options left in brackets, or blank spaces.
One major issue remains money. The draft doesn't settle the question of whether advanced developing countries should join wealthy nations in helping the poorest and most vulnerable nations deal with climate change.
It doesn't resolve the question of the long-term goal of the accord — whether it is to remove carbon emissions from the economy altogether or just reduce them. Nor does it settle whether governments are aiming to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees C above pre-industrial times or closer to 2 degrees C.
"We have never been this close to a climate change agreement," said Maldives Environment Minister Thoriq Ibrahim, chairman of an alliance of island nations. "It's now up to us ministers to show the leadership needed to make hard decisions that put the interests of people and the planet ahead of shortsighted politics."
The new text "definitely shows progress both in terms of the conciseness of the text as well as in terms of the crystallization of the political points that still need a lot of work," UN climate agency chief Christiana Figueres told reporters.
Kerry, speaking at the conference outside Paris, announced Wednesday that the U.S. will double its contribution to helping vulnerable nations adapt to the effects of climate change, increasing grant money to $860 million from $430 million by 2020.
