Morale and momentum increased at the 20th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework on Climate Change in Lima Peru this December.  Whether that is only by comparison to the conference one year ago or an indication of expectations for the Paris meetings in one year’s time we will only know in one year.  In Paris the representatives and experts should compile a treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol, as time is running thin.  The announcement in October by the European Union to cut emissions by 40% from 1990 levels no later than 2030 boosted progress for the 20th Conference.  Cities and multinational corporations alike have pledged to reduce emissions and adopt low carbon technologies, and various governments have committed $9.3 billion to the Green Climate Fund.  The President of the United States stepped out and upped the potential by his announcement in Beijing in November; the US will cut emissions from 2005 level benchmark by up to 28% by 2025.  China’s contribution in Lima amounted to a footnote, a representation that emissions would reach a peak in 2030.  Not to downplay, however, because China had historically refused to cut and pointed to the already-developed countries to bear the burden.  Will India and Brazil now move forward with China?  The US action isolated Australia, Canada and Russia as the developed and hesitant.

Twenty-first Conference, Paris, December 2015.  Treaty?