Danes circulate accord outline; includes USD 100 bn finance

Betwa Sharma
Copenhagen, Dec 18 (PTI) Amid last ditch efforts to
salvage the climate summit, the Danish government has come out
with a draft accord that skips putting more onus on developed
countries on emission cuts and mitigation targets but promises
USD 100 billion in finance to developing countries by 2020.
The draft, which may undergo several changes during the
negotiations, reflects the key Indian demand that only action
involving international finances are open to scrutiny.
Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh, who held hectic
parleys with the Indian team here, has made it clear that
climate change cannot be addressed by perpetuating the poverty
of the developing countries.
Among the world leaders attending the summit are US
President Barack Obama and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.
The draft was circulated after marathon negotiations
among key players that stretched overnight.
The document also refers to containing the global rise in
temperature to 2 degrees Celsius before the greenhouse gases
stabilise, in consonance with the Indian position.
The small island states, who are the most vulnerable to
global warming, have demanded that the rise be limited to 1.5
degrees Celsius as compared to pre-industrial times.
Details of the draft, obtained by PTI, also mention the
concept of peaking without mentioning a "peaking year" for
carbon emissions.
Peaking year refers to an year when the greenhouse gases
emissions in the atmosphere will reach the highest levels,
before stabilising. (MORE) PTI