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Copenhagen Accord draft leaves issues unanswered
By Li Xing (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-12-19 01:55
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A draft of Copenhagen Accord circulated among journalists and NGO representatives reveals that the nations still have a few key issues to resolve.
The accord is the leaders' political statement summarizing the consensus that they have reached during this summit.
However, in the clause spelling out the global emission targets, the specified aggregate reductions of greenhouse gas emissions for developed countries (excluding the US ) as "X percent in 2020 compared to 1990", meaning mainly the European countries have not agreed on a set percentage.
For the US, the percentage is Y in 2020 "compared to 2005", meaning that the US is not bound by Kyoto Protocol.
Meanwhile, China and the US have yet to resolve the issue about transparency. The accord has not given a deadline for these countries to make their commitment.
The X and Y are major focus of negotiations in the coming hours.By 6:30pm local time, all of the heads of states and governments are still in Copenhagen.
Li Yan, climate campaigner with Greenpeace International, said the accord's main problem is whether it is legally-binding.
