Caracas Saturday agree to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases by 20% by 2030, after 195 countries adopted in Paris a historic agreement to combat climate change.
AFP
"Venezuela has consigned it to the United Nations Secretariat its national contribution" emission reduction (INDC), announced in plenary session cop21 Venezuela's chief negotiator, Claudia Salerno, one of the last groups to do so.
Caracas had conditioned presenting your plan to a satisfactory agreement in Paris for the government of Nicolas Maduro.
According to the Venezuelan proposal, published on Saturday night at the website of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Venezuelan government is committed to reducing its emissions by 20% by 2030 compared to a scenario without changes, in particular 0 18 gigatons of CO2 equivalent annually.
"The degree to which this goal is achieved will depend on the fulfillment of the commitments of developed countries in terms of provision of finance, technology transfer and capacity building," said the document.
Venezuela has been one of the last countries to present their INDC and, as stated by the United Nations Secretary Ban Ki-moon after thanking his contribution to Caracas, there are only 195 in eight countries present, including Nicaragua and Panama.
Nicaragua announced on December 1 that refused to present his INDC, and proposed another mechanism that takes into account the "historical responsibility" of large emitters.
For its part, Panama came to the Paris conference without INDC for lack of time and funding to do but wait to present it in early 2016.
In Venezuela, there are now 187 countries that are committed to reducing their emissions, representing over 95% of greenhouse gases on the planet.
The Venezuelan document specifies, however, that Caracas "reserves the right to reconsider their strategies and targets based on what was agreed in the cop21 (...) and the priorities of national development."
He adds that they are only responsible for 0.48% of global emissions of greenhouse gases.
- Thank you 'to Hugo Chavez' -
Claudia Salerno, one of the mediators appointed by the president of the conference to try to reach an agreement, held in Paris climate agreement and its preamble called "revolutionary."
"We managed to insert a viewing at Venezuela on the need to highlight the social vision of climate change, which was always sidelined by the economic dimension," he told AFP Venezuelan delegate.
Specifically, Salerno stressed that add references as "inclusion, gender, children, empowerment of women" and "climate justice" and "Mother Earth", "intergenerational equity" and "human rights".
The Venezuelan representative, who wore a rosary hanging from the neck and a pin with the image of Hugo Chavez, in his speech stressed the role of Pope Francisco and the late president of Venezuela in achieving the agreement.
"The whole world is going to have to thank Hugo Chavez that 'no' in Copenhagen," he said in reference to the role of president in 2009 on the rejection of the agreement of COP15 for their lack of ambition.
"I only regret that [Chavez] had not been here to see this day and I hope, for sure, join us in the room," he added.
To Salerno, Pope Francisco "may be very happy because, under his inspiration," it was possible to include the link human rights and climate change.