How to get a climate deal back on track?

As UN climate negotiators head back to Bonn to find a way forward after the controversial December 2009 UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, the International Forum on Globalization (IFG) is releasing a report to call attention to some of the more notable results of the summit, to reinforce the reasons why a UN climate process is so critical, and to point to some possible ways forward to success at Cancun in November 2010. IFG's new report, Safe Passage to Cancun - Getting a UN Climate Deal Back on Track, summarizes the main messages from a recent public event in Washington DC providing analysis and perspectives on the outcomes of Copenhagen.

The Copenhagen Accord’s emission cuts amount to maybe only half of what science says is needed to avoid climate catastrophe. Cancun must achieve more than “climate anarchy,” where each country does only what it desires, free from any comprehensive framework of agreed rights and responsibilities. Any agreements allowing such high temperature increases are irresponsible, non-governance of our global commons; we need better. New, bold and cooperative measures will be needed to drive complex global solutions. Fortunately, the opportunities to re-imagine and re-create our collective trajectory are truly rich. Such perspectives are especially urgent for informing the United States climate policy community, general public, and politicians alike, if we are to bridge the North-South gap in search of global climate solutions.

The main messages emerging from the report include:
* Nations must set a science-based global carbon budget, then fairly share the remaining atmospheric space.
* Climate finance governed by climate authorities is a litmus test for North-South trust building.
* Technology cooperation needs intensified engagement to drive smart innovation farther and faster.
* Indigenous peoples’ issues are gaining ground but still need to consolidate protections for their rights.
* Leaving behind the US—until it gets its act together—could help the rest of the world move ahead.