A very busy day in Copenhagen!

In the setting of extraordinary informal consultations held in the morning today, the Chairs of the two AWGs presented a provisional outcome of the works performed during this first week.

Michael Zammit Cutajar, the Chair of the AWG-LCA, announced officially that he envisages an “integrated comprehensive balanced package of decisions” as the outcome of Copenhagen negotiations. To this purpose, the first real draft text of an overarching decision has been prepared: it comprises the key elements of the agreement, while the ongoing works of drafting groups are preparing the ground for the thematic daughter decisions on each of these elements. Significantly, this text assumes the adoption of a new commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol. In fact, AWG-KP Chair John Ashe has prepared a draft text outlining amendments to the Kyoto Protocol reflecting this solution.

After hearing the first reactions, to let the Parties digest and comment on the text’s substance informal consultations will be reconvened tonight. In the meanwhile drafting groups are still negotiating…