Just before 01.00 on Saturday morning, a number of heads of state and government agreed on a climate agreement at the UN conference in Copenhagen. The agreement includes agreement on the two degree target and money for climate financing. The agreement came after high-level negotiations in a smaller circle of around 30 countries – including China, India and the USA, as well as EU Member States.

Photo: Gunnar Seijbold/Regeringskansliet

• Download high resolution image (426 KB)
• Photo usage rights

”Let us speak plainly, I would have liked more. This will not solve the threat of climate change. But it is a first step, an important step”, said Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt at a press conference after the end of the meeting on Friday night.

Afterwards, the Danish Presidency presented the Copenhagen Accord to all of the countries of the world in the plenary meeting at the Climate Change Conference. After protracted negotiations that continued through the night and the next morning – plenary decisions must be taken in consensus – the assembled countries decided to take formal ‘note’ of the agreement at lunchtime on Saturday.

In the agreement, a commitment of USD 30 billion from industrialised countries over the period 2010 to 2012 was decided, as ‘fast start funding’ for adaptation, emissions reductions, research and capacity building in developing countries, including funding to prevent deforestation. Mobilisation of financing for the needs of developing countries beyond the year 2020 is also addressed in the agreement and is estimated at USD 100 billion per year from 2020.

“What we wanted to achieve when we came here to Copenhagen was to get us out of the deadlock. Either we do something or we land in nothing. And now we have seen countries make efforts and set goals. Even countries that said they wouldn’t make any commitments have presented figures”, said Fredrik Reinfeldt.

Attached to the agreement is an annex, where countries or groups of countries can fill in their commitments on emissions reductions or climate change action. Mr Reinfeldt stressed that the agreement is not sufficiently ambitious for the EU to change its emissions target to a 30 per cent reduction by 2020.

A fund is proposed in the agreement, called the Copenhagen Green Climate Fund. Money will be channelled through the fund to support different initiatives for adaptation, emissions reductions and technology development. A mechanism will also be established to intensify technology transfer between developed and developing countries.

President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso also participated in the press conference.
“This agreement is better than none at all, but it is clearly below our objective. I am not going to hide my disappointment”, he said, and added:
“But it is the first step in a very important process."