EU aims for a significant carbon emissions cut of 60% by 2050 to be agreed at the UN climate summit in Paris later this year. According to a leaked EU document, the new Paris Protocol which is due to be agreed later this year should require signatory states to commit to a legally binding carbon emissions cut of 60% by 2050, with five-yearly reviews. However, many observed, although, it is remarkable that the EU is trying to keep emissions cut within the rubric of a legally binding deal, the document specifies that the 60% cut would be compared to 2010 levels, consequently leading to the same results as the previous aspiration of a 50% cut compared to 1990 levels. In the document, the EU also states that the new Protocol should become effective as soon as states with a share of 80% of current global emissions have ratified it, and wishes for major economies to do so as early as possible. The communication also urges public sector climate finance to continue to play an important role in preventing dangerous global warming; in particular, developed countries have pledged to mobilise climate finance of $100 billion a year by 2020, but at the moment only $10 billion have been provided, and this risks lowering the chances of an effective deal. In fact, even though the EU is currently not giving it enough prominence, finance will be one of the key topics of the Paris summit. The gLAWcal Team EPSEI project Tuesday, 24 February 2015 (Source: Guardian)