U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry sought to spur climate envoys to action Thursday as the annual UN summit entered its final phase with an accord far off.
The world faced a “massive moral failure of historical consequences” if it failed to act decisively in reining in climate change, Kerry charged in a visit to the Peruvian capital.
“If we fail, future generations will not and should not forgive those who ignored this moment. They will want to know how we together have possibly been so blind.”
Delegates are hammering out a draft text to be adopted by all countries in Paris in 2015, to replace the Kyoto treaty in 2020. But with the deadline Friday, several blockages to an agreement need to be cleared.
Among those are disagreements over how countries decide their voluntary greenhouse gas emissions targets.
The developed world wants countries “nationally determined” plans to focus on sole reductions in heat-trapping gases, known as mitigation.
By contrast, developing nations demand additional financing and funds for adaptation to the onset of climate impacts.
Countries must not be “bogged down by abstract detail” but work together irrespective of who was responsible for climate change, Kerry urged.
“This is not insurmountable. Mankind is creating the problem and makind can solve the problem.”
The Lima Conference of the Parties, or COP, began with cautious optimism following a key joint announcement by U.S. and China last month.
The U.S. pledged to cut greehouse gas emissions by 26 to 28 percent by 2025 on 2005 levels, while China agreed to a cap “around 2030.”
That catalyzed the case for action among nations that have spent almost three decades without a solution to avert man-made climate change.
As developing countries oppose certain parts of text, China wants the parties to be more flexible in negotiations and look beyond Lima to Paris.
“This is not the final summit of negotiations,” said Liu Zhenmin, deputy head of the Chinese delegation and vice minister of foreign affairs.
“We will carry over all of the issues to 2015 for the continuation of negotiations,” he said.
Kerry said the U.S. would set new standards for power plants and boost renewables in the country’s energy production.
A transformation to a low-carbon economy offered a landmark economic opportunity, he said. The energy market is currently worth $6 trillion with 4 to 5 billion users, and set to rise to 9 billion.
“Secretary Kerry, a longtime climate champion, has shown that the U.S. will not back down from its global obligation to respond to the climate crisis,” said Jennifer Morgan of the World Resources Institute.
“As we enter the final hours of the COP20, negotiators need to come together with a similar level of conviction to move ahead with creating the foundation for a strong climate agreement,” Morgan added.
Delegates from almost 200 nations are due to produce a draft by Friday evening, though observers say a Saturday finish is more realistic.
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