Secretary of State John Kerry says an outline of a deal to combat climate change must be “somewhat in shape” by Thursday to reach an agreement by the end of the Paris talks on Friday.
Speaking at the 21st Conference of the Parties, or COP21, in Paris Monday morning, Kerry said it’s possible the negotiations could bleed into Saturday morning. But he’s optimistic a deal can be reached by the end of the conference Friday.
“People need to see the whole thing and feel that it fits and it’s comfortable, and we really won’t know that for a few more days,” Kerry said.
About 195 countries are meeting in the French capital this week to hammer out the final details of an agreement for each country to limit their greenhouse emissions to slow the increase in global temperatures. So far, 184 countries have submitted plans. Most scientists blame greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels for driving manmade climate change.
Negotiators in Paris have been working off a proposed draft agreement since the conference started and announced Saturday that they had a final draft of the agreement. That draft is now being considered as the new basis for negotiations.
United Nations scientists say the agreements would limit the increase in global temperature to 2.7 degrees Celsius. That’s down from about 4.5 degrees Celsius if no action were taken.
However, it’s below the 2 degrees Celsius level scientists say would trigger the worst effects of climate change.
Kerry said he’s open to any action the countries in Paris can take to limit the global temperature rise to below 2 degrees Celsius, but it’s unlikely that would be a part of the final deal.
“We have already agreed previously that 2 degrees Centigrade is the target,” Kerry said. “I don’t think it’s realistic to embrace [going below 2 degrees] because I don’t think it’ll be taken seriously.”
The U.S. delegation in Paris is working against including any language in the deal that would state countries “shall” implement emissions policies.
Kerry said the reason for that was political necessity. He pointed to the Senate’s refusal to ratify the Kyoto climate agreement approved in the late 1990s as an example of how domestic politics can tank international agreements.
“Certain terms have legal impacts and certain legal impacts have political impacts and certain political impacts can kill the agreement,” he said.
Kerry joins Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy and Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz as the top members of the U.S. delegation in Paris this week.
While most countries determined their emissions cuts ahead of the conference, much of the agreement would go toward making sure each country is honest about reporting on progress toward those cuts.
Moniz, speaking to reporters in Paris Monday, said it’s necessary to make sure countries are held accountable.
“We are looking for verifiable approaches for accounting for progress,” he told The Hill. “We’ve been very clear that we would like to see a regular review period.”
