Paris climate summit aims to avoid Copenhagen mistakes

Significance

Climate policy will be of high international attention in the lead up to the UN's climate change summit in Paris in December (COP 21). The political and economic climate makes it more likely that a multinational deal can be reached than at the 2009 Copenhagen summit. While unseen difficulties could intercede, doubt now revolves around the nature of a deal, rather than whether a deal will be reached.

Impacts

• Even weak national targets will result in more regulation for carbon-intensive businesses and more incentives for low-carbon technologies.
• A deal could have serious implications for high-cost, energy-intensive extractors in the tar sands and shale oil sectors.
• Coal-only companies will see little room for growth in developed countries.
• Shipping and aviation were left out of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol but will be included this time.