The United Nations COP16 global-warming summit in Cancun failed to produce a binding deal or even a concrete renewal of the Kyoto Protocol despite talks that went into Saturday morning. However, most UN climate dignitaries did finally reach an “agreement” of sorts, citing the accord as evidence of progress and vowing to expand the climate regime later.
Almost every government in the world signed on to what the UN is referring to as the “Cancun Agreements.” And similar to the process used to create the COP15 Copenhagen Accord last year, wealthier regimes simply bribed rulers of poor nations with continued promises of free technology and at least $100 billion per year by 2020 to fight “climate change.”
That was actually one of the main summit “accomplishments” being touted in the media — an actual deal to finally develop a “Green Climate Fund” and the global institutions needed to hand out money and transfer technology from the developed world to poorer regimes. Exactly where the money will come from has still not been determined, however.
The agreements also “took note” of various things, urging “rich” countries to move rapidly in reducing emissions and forking over cash. According to one of the accords, some UN scientists think emissions need to be cut from 1990 levels by between 25 percent and 40 percent in the next 10 years to avoid “catastrophic” warming.
One of the agreements established rules and a mechanism for “internationally funded forest conservation” as well, according to an Associated Press report. Paying poor countries not to chop down their forests was a hot topic throughout the conference. The agreements also created a mechanism to monitor developed countries’ emissions.
In terms of renewing the Kyoto Protocol, a 1997 treaty that limits emissions from developed countries (except the United States, which never ratified it) and provides money to developing-nations’ governments, there was no real progress. Nations basically agreed to keep working on the issue at the next global-warming summit, objections from the governments of Canada, Japan, Russia, and others not withstanding.
But despite the lack of a legally binding treaty, only a few governments opposed the outcome. UN bigwigs, most alarmist environmental groups, and almost every government in the world welcomed the deal.
“Cancún has done its job,” claimed UN global-warming boss Christiana Figueres in a statement. “The beacon of hope has been reignited and faith in the multilateral climate change process to deliver results has been restored.”
She said the Cancun Agreements represented a “new beginning,” not the end. “It is not what is ultimately required but it is the essential foundation on which to build greater, collective ambition,” she said, calling the agreements “pretty historic” because governments agreed to “such a broad set of instruments and tools” to “help” poorer governments.
“Nations have shown they can work together under a common roof, to reach consensus on a common cause,” Figueres added, despite the actual lack of consensus. “They have shown that consensus in a transparent and inclusive process can create opportunity for all. Governments have given a clear signal that they are headed towards a low-emissions future together, they have agreed to be accountable to each other for the actions they take to get there, and they have set it out in a way which encourages countries to be more ambitious over time.”
Mexican President Felipe Calderon also praised the deals in a 4 a.m. speech. “Cancun has been a success for all because it has taken a big step in convincing the international community of the value of multilateralism,” he proclaimed. “This has been a victory of your all, delegates. This has been a success for humanity and reason.” He also said governments were doing the right thing in “thinking of our brothers in the most vulnerable states.”
U.S. climate ambassador Todd Stern was also happy with the results. “It’s been a challenging, tiring and intensive week,” he said. But to him, it was worth it. “What we have now is a text that, while not perfect, is certainly a good basis for moving forward.”
Various alarmist environmental groups also heaped praise on the agreements, alternating between proclamations that the climate was not “saved” yet, and adoration for the UN and its newly created mechanisms.
Not everybody was on board though, even among the most vocal alarmist delegations. “Its cost will be measured in human lives,” the Bolivian Foreign Ministry said of the agreements, upset that there was not enough “climate justice” included as part of the deal. “History will judge harshly.”
The Bolivian government said the talks were “hollow” and that rich governments “bullied and cajoled” poorer ones. “For us, this is not a step forward,” Bolivian Ambassador Pablo Solon told summit participants after the agreement was reached. “It is a step back, because what is being done here is postponing without limit the discussion on the Kyoto Protocol.” Bolivia’s refusal to cooperate means there was not true consensus achieved in Cancun, despite UN claims to the contrary.
Socialist Bolivia has been a strong advocate of warming alarmism, even hosting its own “alternative climate summit” in Cochabamba last year. It drafted a “Declaration of Rights” for “Mother Earth,” called for setting up a climate “tribunal” to bring climate “criminals” to justice, and, of course, demanded a lot more money for poor governments. It also frequently advocates the destruction of what remains of the free market.
Other critics also blasted the agreements, though from a different angle of attack. “The governing class in what was once proudly known as the Free World is silently, casually letting go of liberty, prosperity, and even democracy itself,” noted Lord Christopher Monckton, a science-policy expert, after reading one of the draft documents. “No one in the mainstream media will tell you this, not so much because they do not see as because they do not bloody care.”
The next COP climate summit is scheduled for early December of next year in Durban, South Africa. Some of the solutions being proposed include a global one-child policy, world socialism, global carbon taxes, rationing, and more. And while some observers are already predicting the imminent collapse of the alarmist movement and ridiculing the scam, other analysts predict that the UN climate “monster” is still far from dead.
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