Copenhagen played host to the fifteenth session of the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 15) and the fifth Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol. The Danish summit, which was attended by over 15,000 delegates and observers and 115 heads of state and government, ended with the publication of the Copenhagen Accord, a voluntary and non-binding statement of intent outside the Convention and the Kyoto Protocol.
The main achievements of the Copenhagen summit are:
- A proposed overall objective of cutting emissions to ensure global temperatures do not rise above 2ºC.
- Developed countries (Appendix I of the Convention) have until 31 January 2010 to establish their greenhouse gas emission commitments for 2020 based on the reference year of their choice, and to establish voluntary mitigation measures they intend to implement.
- Recognition of the importance of forests and agreement on the need to establish a mechanism including REDD-plus to enable the mobilisation of financial resources from developed countries.
- The commitment by developed countries to provide new and additional resources approaching USD 30 billion for the period 20102012 with balanced allocation between adaptation and mitigation, and the goal of mobilising jointly USD 100 billion dollars a year by 2020 to address the needs of developing countries. The establishment of the Copenhagen Green Climate Fund to manage a significant part of these financial resources.
- The establishment of a High Level Panel accountable to the Conference of the Parties to study the contribution of the potential sources of revenue.
- The establishment of a Technology Mechanism to accelerate technology development and transfer in support of action on adaptation and mitigation.
- A call for an assessment of the implementation of this Accord to be completed by 2015, including the possible reconsideration of the 2ºC goal in light of scientific developments.
- Bolivia, Cuba, Nicaragua, the Sudan and Venezuela stated that they would not sign the Accord.
Endesa is also a member of the programme "Caring for Climate: The Business Leadership Platform”. The main objective of this programme is to provide a platform for companies that have signed the United Nations Global Compact and, like Endesa, are keen to share their know-how and spearhead initiatives to promote environmental protection and combat climate change.
By joining this scheme, Endesa underlines its commitment to voluntarily play an active role in the fight against climate change as part of its corporate strategy. In particular, it affirms its commitment to promote energy efficiency and cut CO2 emissions and to make public its achievements in these fields each year.