A global market for carbon credits may be among the solutions.<\/b>
\nKATOWICE, Poland \u2014 A deal on the rules that govern the Paris climate accord appeared within grasp Saturday, as officials from almost 200 countries worked to bridge remaining differences after two weeks of U. N. talks in Poland.
The 2015 Paris Agreement was a landmark moment in international diplomacy, bringing together governments with vastly different views to tackle the common threat of global warming. But while the accord set a headline target of keeping average global temperatures from rising by more than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) \u2013 or 1.5 C (2.7 F) if possible \u2013 much of the fine print was left unfinished.
The meeting in Poland\u2019s southern city of Katowice was meant to finalize how countries report their emissions of greenhouses gases \u2013 a key factor in man-made climate change \u2013 and the efforts they\u2019re taking to reduce them. Poor countries also wanted assurances on financial support to help them cut emissions, adapt to inevitable changes such as sea level rise and pay for damage that\u2019s already happened.
\u201cWe\u2019ve come a long way,\u201d Canada\u2019s environment minister, Catherine McKenna, told The Associated Press. \u201cThere\u2019s been really late negotiations, there\u2019s been big group negotiations, there\u2019s been shuttle diplomacy all through the night, and now we are coming to the wire.\u201d
One major sticking point during the talks was how to create a functioning market in carbon credits. Economists believe an international trading system could drive down emissions and raise money for measures to curb global warming.
\u201cWe want billions to flow into trillions. And I\u2019m someone who believes that it\u2019s not just about national governments,\u201d McKenna said. \u201cUltimately the market is going to play a huge role in the cleaner solutions that we need, supporting countries and being efficient and how we do this.\u201d
Emerging economies such as Brazil have pushed back against rich countries\u2019 demands to cancel piles of carbon credits still lingering from a system set up under the 1997 Kyoto accord.
\u201cThere are still a range of possible outcomes and Brazil continues to work constructively with other parties to find a workable pathway forward,\u201d said the country\u2019s chief negotiator, Antonio Marcondes.
The talks in Poland took place against a backdrop of increasing concern among scientists that global warming is proceeding faster than governments are responding to it.
A report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded that while it\u2019s possible to cap global warming at 1.5 degrees C (2.7 degrees F) by the end of the century compared to pre-industrial times, this will require a dramatic overhaul of the global economy including a shift away from fossil fuels.
Alarmed by efforts to include this in the final text of the meeting, the U. S., Russia, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait blocked endorsement of the report mid-way through the talks, prompting uproar from vulnerable countries and environmental groups.
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