A long way to Copenhagen

Governments took small steps along the road to Copenhagen at the UN Climate Summit in Poznan, which marked the halfway point of negotiations of a new climate deal for the post-Kyoto period. 

But the most newsworthy events of the two weeks took place outside the negotiating halls:

• Senator John Kerry, representing President-elect Obama, declared that the US is set to lead the world to a successful outcome in Copenhagen;
• In Brussels, EU ministers reached a deal that allows them to hold onto their 20-20-20 target (relating to 20% emissions reductions, 20% renewable energy and a 20% improvement in energy efficiency).  Although there wasn’t much agreement on how the targets will be achieved, 300 million allowances have been allocated to Carbon Capture and Storage technology; and 
• Australia was rumoured to be about to announce an emissions target, and since the summit, the Labour Government proposed a 5-15% reduction on 2000 levels by 2020.

For more information, download our short briefing paper.