Work Begins on First Draft of Global Climate Treaty

Work Begins on First Draft of Global Climate Treaty
GENEVA—Climate change negotiators are meeting in Switzerland this week to begin work on a draft of a new international climate treaty that is due to be voted on in December. Delegates from nearly 190 countries are at the United Nations Climate Change negotiations as a followup to the annual UN climate conference (COP20) in Lima, Peru in December 2014. There, they adopted a 38-page text which must be whittled down for a new climate treaty. The first parts of the draft, which cover objectives, mitigation, finance and technologies, are being discussed initially. The final draft text from Geneva will be picked up at the next scheduled meeting in Bonn, Germany in early June, where further streamlining and consolidation will occur. Two additional meetings have also been planned before the December conference in Paris.