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The fair, ambitious and legally binding agreement to tackle climate change, which was scheduled to be finalised at the recently concluded UNFCCC Climate Change Conference (COP) in Copenhagen, did not materialise

This latest of 15 Climate Change COPs was mandated to agree a new global climate deal under the UNFCCC umbrella, to address emission reductions and adaptation to climate change. But with some of the 192 participating governments negotiating with each other away from the main conference proceedings, acrimonious disputes about the legal shape of a new treaty ate up trust and patience, and above all, time. Instead of the hoped-for new legally binding climate change treaty, the COP passed the Copenhagen Accord by “noting” rather than “adopting” it.

“So much depended on getting the right result from Copenhagen,” said BirdLife’s John Lanchbery, who has attended all the Climate Change COPs. “The actual outcome gives a whole new meaning to that quote from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, 'something is rotten in the state of Denmark'. Commenting on the accord John Lanchbery said: it sounds very vague. There's no next step, nothing to link through to how to get a final deal done."

The Copenhagen Accord does not contain targets to help tackle climate change. There is no agreement on a long-term global mitigation target of 50% by 2050 to avoid dangerous climate change. There was also no agreement that global emissions should peak by 2015-2020. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, both targets are necessary to achieve stabilisation of greenhouse gas concentrations at 450ppm, and to avoid global temperature rises of more than 2�C above pre-industrial levels, which would result in dangerous and irreversible effects on nature, people and the economy.

“The BirdLife Partnership asked the world’s leaders to agree concrete targets in Copenhagen to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and they have failed us”, said Melanie Heath – Senior Advisor on Climate Change at BirdLife.

However the Copenhagen Accord does provide political context and shape, and forms a useful, if inadequate basis for negotations and agreement next year.

“It is essential that countries build on this accord, and the texts developed since Bali in 2007, to work together to finalise a strong and legally binding agreement as early as possible in 2010. The world’s people and ecosystems cannot afford, and some of them will not survive, the environmental, social and economic consequences of further delay”, said Melanie Heath.

"The process will start again next year, leading up to COP 16 in Mexico”, said John Lanchbery. "Perhaps it will be all the better for the nasty surprise we had in Copenhagen."

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