Global General
Climate talks bog down in last-minute disputes
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-12-18 17:19
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The reality was that a political deal was about all leaders could expect from a process that has foundered the past two weeks over growing distrust between rich and poor nations. Both sides blamed the other for failing to take ambitions actions to tackle climate change and bickered over a post-Kyoto legal framework. At one point, African delegates staged a partial boycott of the talks.
World leaders handed off the draft text of about three pages at about 3 am local time to their ministers and they continued to work on it through the night. But by 5 am, negotiators from Mexico and the G77 plus China said they were nowhere near agreement on the final document.
Fernando Tudela, Mexico's vice minister of environment, agreed negotiators have their work cut out for them.
"There is still a possibility that something can be rescued at the last minute," Tudela said. "But otherwise it will be very difficult. There are still issues to be solved."
Clinton's announcement on funding was widely praised. Yoshiko Kijima, a senior Japanese negotiator, said it sent a strong signal by Obama "that he will persuade his own people that we need to show something to developing countries. I really respect that."
Swedish Environment Minister Andreas Carlgren said Clinton added "political momentum," and India's Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh called it "a good step forward."
But none of the leaders at the summit offered to increase their emissions targets, which the United Nations has concluded would fall far short of what is needed to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.
Sudan's Lumumba, spokesman for the developing-nations group, said the agreement that was being worked on included a goal of keeping temperatures from rising more than 2 degrees C above preindustrial levels, a ceiling a half-degree warmer than developing nations demand.
Carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere have already increased global temperatures by 0.7 degrees C (1.3 degrees F) since the Industrial Age began the extensive burning of fossil fuels.
A UN-sponsored scientific panel says any further rise to above 2 degrees C (3.6 degrees F) more than preindustrial temperatures could lead to a catastrophic sea-level rise threatening islands and coastal cities, the die-off of many species of animals and plants, and damaging climate shifts to the agricultural economies of many countries.
An internal UN calculation, obtained by The Associated Press, said pledges made so far by both industrial and developing countries would mean a 3-degree Celsius (4.8-degree Fahrenheit) temperature rise over preindustrial levels.
Clinton repeated the US would cut emissions by 17 percent from 2005 levels by 2020, and China said its voluntary emissions target was nonnegotiable. China announced last month it would cut its "carbon intensity," or the amount of emissions in relation to production, by 40 to 45 percent.
The European Union said Thursday that it will not raise its 20 percent cuts to 30 percent, as it has offered, unless it sees more ambitious actions from other countries.
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei told reporters Beijing had no legal obligation to verify its emissions actions, but was not afraid of supervision or responsibility.
"We will enhance and improve our national communication" to the UN on emissions, He said. The Chinese official indicated his country's emissions-cutting actions would then be open to international scrutiny, saying China was willing to provide explanations and clarifications on its reports.
"The purpose is to improve transparency," He said, adding that Beijing was ready to take part in "dialogue and cooperation that is not intrusive and doesn't infringe on China's sovereignty."
