11 December 2009: In two press conferences held in Copenhagen, Denmark, Yvo de Boer, UNFCCC Executive Secretary, provided an update on the state of the negotiations at the end of the first week of the UN Copenhagen Climate Change Conference.
Addressing the press on 10 December 2009, he indicated that good progress in the area of technology was being made. De Boer stated that he saw an “emerging” agreement, with countries wanting to see a new technical mechanism, including an executive body overseeing technological development and transfer, result from the Conference. He also stressed that the Kyoto Protocol, whose first commitment period expires in 2012, must remain in force in order to avoid a gap between commitment periods.
On 11 December 2009, de Boer explained to the press that new texts being discussed under the Protocol and Convention “begin to capture the framework of what could be agreed at the end of this conference,” which he called a “sign of an important step-change in the negotiating process.” Emphasizing that it is “time to begin to focus on the big picture,” he called on negotiators to centre on cooperative action, identify the long-term goal of the current talks, focus on how finance will be mobilized and concentrate on how industrialized countries’ targets will be captured in a final document. De Boer further welcomed the EU decision to provide €7.2 billion over the next three years to help developing countries take action on climate change.[UN Press Release 10 December 2009][UN Press Release 11 December 2009]