COP-16 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

General information about the COP-16 held in Cancun in Mexico from 29th November to 11th December 2010 under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the 6th Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP6) tracks

Main achievement Extensive negotiations adopted the Cancun Agreement – a set of decision that will finally lead to a new treaty for post-2012 global climate change regime that concerns shared vision for long-term cooperation actions and mitigation and sets up a wide variety of new instruments, mechanisms, and processes..

The Cancun Agreement affirms that the climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time and scaled up overall mitigation efforts are needed;

approves 2 C goal of global greenhouse gas emissions; establishes the Green Climate Fund, REDD+ and guiding work in areas such as the technology mechanism and adaptation framework.

From a development policy perspectives the packages „realizes that addressing climate change requires a paradigm shift towards building a low-carbon society that offers substantial opportunities and ensures continued high growth and suistanable development”

As a shift toward low-carbon development is needed all governments are encouraged to prepare low-carbon development strategies in the context of sustainable development

What`s next? Extension of the work of the ad hoc working groups under the UN Climate Change Convention and the Kyoto Protocol for a further year while leaving open the legal form of the eventual outcome of the negotiations

Long term emissions target – voluntary already adopted by many governments could become legally binding in the future