Summary for policymakers on Climate Change – COP19 et CMP9

Negotiations within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) take place in a difficult context, where economic, social and human issues are crucial. But a major challenge in Warsaw is to continue the transition initiated by the Durban Platform and the Doha Gateway into a new era in climate negotiations, where the traditional dividing lines between the obligations of developed countries and those of developing countries are becoming increasingly blurred, especially after 2020. Which principles of the Convention will prevail in the new agreement, the common but differentiated responsibilities, the respective abilities, the equality or the precaution and suitability, and how strongly will they be promoted’ How to take into account historical responsibility, capacity and economic, environmental and social changes of each of the Parties of the Convention in the evaluation of the ambition of their commitments towards the principle of common but differentiated capacities? Should we give these commitments a dynamic interpretation based on the economic realities and the current and future emissions levels of each country ?

To help policymakers better understand the challenges of the Warsaw Conference, this summary provides a historical perspective (Chapter 1), followed by an analysis of the key issues that are negotiated based on the latest texts and positions of each country towards these issues (chapters 2-5). It ends with a brief chapter on the expectations from the Warsaw Conference. Although this book is specifically designed for negotiators from member countries of the International Organization of la Francophonie (OIF), we hope it will also be useful for all participants.