AILAC welcomes mitigation announcement between China and the USA and asks for more ambition from all in light of science

AILAC welcomes mitigation announcement between China and the USA and asks for more ambition from all in light of science

The six member countries of the Independent Association of Latin America and the Caribbean (AILAC) welcome the announcement from the governments of the United States of America and China to reduce emissions by 26-28% with respect to 2005 and to reach a peak of CO2 emissions by around 2030, respectively.

This announcement, together with the agreement recently adopted by the European Union (EU) to reduce emissions by at least 40% with respect to the 1990 level, represents a major political push to COP20 in Lima and a critical milestone toward reaching a 2015 Agreement in Paris that successfully limits the increase in global temperature to below 2 degrees or 1.5 degrees C and puts the world on a pathway to decarbonization.

Most importantly, these announcements will help galvanize other major emitters to come forward with their contributions as soon as possible, and by March of 2015 at the latest.  In particular, these countries have created substantial momentum for other major emitters to announce their contributions this week at the G-20 Summit.

AILAC recognizes this significant steps taken by the USA and China to provide momentum for the COP20 and the 2015 Agreement. However, there is still a need to strengthen these targets, in order to bring them in line with what is required by the latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to reach the 2 degree limit. Fortunately, there is still time before the Paris Agreement to enhance both the level of effort and the timing of these targets and for countries to collectively embark on the path to decarbonization.