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 The Dec. 1-12 meeting in Lima opened with hopes that a U.N. deal to
slow climate change is in reach for 2015, helped by goals set by
China, the United States and the European Union to cut greenhouse
emissions, mainly from burning fossil fuels.
Christiana Figueres, head of the U.N.'s Climate Change Secretariat,
dismissed suggestions that a tumble in the price of oil to a
five-year low on Monday could brake hopes for a shift to renewable
energies as a cornerstone of the climate deal.
Oil price volatility "is exactly one of the main reasons why we must
move to renewable energy which has a completely predictable cost of
zero for fuel" once wind turbines or solar panels were built, she
told a news conference.
"We are seeing more and more the realization that investment in
fossil fuel is actually a high risk, is getting more and more
risky," she said, welcoming a decision by Germany's top utility E.ON
to spin off power plants to focus on renewable energy and power
grids.
Still, other experts said the oil price fall could slow some
investments in renewables and may make fossil fuel exporters such as
Russia and Saudi Arabia reluctant to make concessions at the climate
talks, fearing they could undermine their earnings.
"It's hard to tell what the total net impact will be here," Alden
Meyer, of the Union of Concerned Scientists, said after Brent crude
fell as low as $67.53 a barrel, its lowest level since October 2009,
before rebounding to settle at $72.54.
Delegates in Lima are due to work out elements of a deal due to be
agreed at a U.N. summit in Paris next year as part of a U.N. goal to
limit average world temperature rises to 2 degrees (3.6 Fahrenheit)
above pre-industrial times.
CORAL REEFS
Temperatures have already risen by about 0.9 C (1.5F) and a U.N.
panel of climate scientists says there are risks of irreversible
impacts, ranging from damage to coral reefs to a meltdown of
Greenland's ice that would raise sea levels.
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"The window for action is rapidly closing," Rajendra Pachauri, head
of the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, told
delegates, warning of worsening disruptions to food and water
supplies.
His panel says it is 95 percent probable that man-made emissions are
the main cause of warming. And 2014 may eclipse 2010 as the warmest
year on record.
The talks have been boosted after the United States last month
agreed to cut emissions by 26 to 28 percent below 2005 levels and
China agreed to set a cap on its soaring emissions by around 2030.
The European Union also aims to cut emissions by 40 percent below
1990 levels. That means that nations accounting for more than half
of world emissions have set already goals.
"There is probably more of an opportunity here than there has been
in a very long time," U.S. Climate Envoy Todd Stern told a briefing
in Washington.
(Reporting by Alister Doyle, Environment Correspondent, extra
reporting by Valerie Volcovici in Washington,; Editing by Tom Brown,
Bernard Orr)
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