“We are not asking countries to adhere to the accord, we are asking them to associate with the accord,” says De Boer, adding that the 31 January date is a “soft deadline.”

“If you fail to meet it you can still associate with the accord later,” says de Boer who describes it as a “political tool”. He says that “there is no indication that countries want the accord to take on a life of its own, countries want it to further the UN negotiating process.”

Under the terms of the accord, industrialised countries are expected to register their commitments to emission cuts by 2020, and developing countries can indicate which national actions they are prepared to take to mitigate their emissions.

Climate change negotiators highlight that not only are the commitments entirely voluntary, but each Annex I country is able to set their own “base line” for measuring its emissions reductions.