Towards a new climate regime? Views of China, India, Japan, Russia and the United States in the road to Copenhagen

Abstract:

The fifteenth Conference of Parties to be held in Copenhagen in December 2009 has been set as the political deadline for establishing a comprehensive regime to address the dramatic threat of climate change and follow up the Kyoto Protocol. The EU has a convening role in the position formation for the negotiations as the newly elected presidential administration of the US will need all the time available to establish its position for Copenhagen.

The main themes of the Copenhagen negotiations will include the burden sharing between developed countries, the involvement of the countries currently outside the developed country group Annex I, financing of mitigation and adaptation actions in developing countries, and an international emissions trading scheme.

This report outlines the backgrounds of five major emitters: China, India, Japan, Russia and the United States and their views on the post-2012 pact, and contemplates these views in light of the EU position.