In a letter to the UN Climate Secretariat yesterday India and China, two highly influential developing nations, have formally agreed to be listed as parties to the Copenhagen Accord.  The Accord followed two weeks of negotiations at Copenhagen’s international climate summit last November and was seen as the start of the process to define the future of global emissions including reduction targets.

Confusion still reigns over how to approach an agreement over legally binding carbon emission reduction targets, though the endorsement by China and India is a step forward towards this goal.  Following Copenhagen, ambitions were for a global deal to be struck this December during negotiations in Mexico, however the likelihood of this is now being questioned widely.

Both China and India made clear their support for continuing on current UN negotiating tracks rather than start a new negotiation process outside of the Kyoto protocol.  China’s prime minister, Wen Jiabao, stated, “it is neither viable nor acceptable to start a new negotiation process outside the UNFCCC and the protocol."

However, the Copenhagen Accord is just one piece of the complicated jigsaw of international climate negotiations; engaging the world’s biggest cumulative polluter (the US) and current biggest polluter (China) in significant domestic emissions cuts is essential.  The lack of action is now leading senior climate figures to feel a great deal of uncertainty and a shift away from a global deal to national action. Senior officials from around the world now see South Africa’s meeting in December 2011 as the earliest possible target-setting forum.