COP16: The Cancún Agreements in a nutshell

14th December 2010

It's sometimes easy for momentous moments to pass you by: You've been practicing Blackbird for the last twenty days and you still haven't got it right, you just discovered thecth, or you've been playing Call of Duty Black Ops for the last 29 days… either way, if you missed the United Nations' COP16 Cancún Agreements, or you just don't get it, here's a quick run down of what the deal is and what is could mean:

•The establishment of a fund for long-term financial support for climate change projects in developing countries. According to the UN website, the goal for this fund is in the region of $100 billion annually by 2020.

•In particular, deforestation mitigation is high up on the agenda. A New fund Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) has been set up to pay poorer countries to stem their deforestation.

•Technology cooperation has been boosted by the establishment of a Technology Executive Committee and Climate Technology Centre and Network. This will enable greater international cooperation in green technologies.

•An Adaptation Committee will help to support vulnerable population as they are forced to adapt to climate change.

•Both India and China have rebuilt some of the lost reputation they garnered from the breakdown of last year's climate change conference in Copenhagen.

•It has emerged that some have starter to speculate that America might be more worried about the speed of adoption and innovation in green technologies in China than they are about the potential impact of the emission deal on US businesses.