“An agreement to include all larger economies in the new, global framework for reducing greenhouse gas emissions is an important step forward. The agreement that is to be developed by 2015, is essentially the first time that all polluters take an obligation to reduce emissions,” the Minister of the Environment Keit Pentus explained after returning from the Durban climate negotiations. “Naturally, most of the work is still ahead of us, because the details of the new global climate agreement will be discussed and refined from the beginning of the next year.”
According to the Minister of the Environment, the agreements reached in Durban was an important message to several economic sectors. “The need for technological solutions that reduce pollution is continually increasing. The Durban negotiations sent a clear message – all countries are interested in moving towards a less polluting economy with less carbon,” Pentus added.
The Kyoto Protocol is the only legally binding agreement that obliges countries to reduce their emissions with an objective of keeping the increase of the Earth temperature below 2 degrees Celsius. The initial validity period of the Kyoto Protocol ends on 31.12.2012. |
