Global General

Climate conference: Still a long way to go

By Dong Wei and Lan Lan (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-10-09 21:50

Tianjin - Limited overall progress was made at the Tianjin United Nations Climate Change Conference, which finished Oct 9th, said Christiana Figueres, executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Christiana Figueres, executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change meets the media during the UN climate meeting in Tianjin October 9, 2010.[Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]

"It has been a meeting of progress about clarification of the agenda for Cancun," Figueres told China Daily.

"This week has got us closer to a structured set of decisions that can be agreed on in Cancun," said Figueres. "Countries came here to go through the text in front of them and separate what are doable aspects in Cancun from those that will need further attention after Cancun. And they have actually done that."

Disagreements have been narrowed down on several issues, such as financial assistance, technology transfer and forestation. But divergences between rich countries and poor ones on reduction of greenhouse gases are still overwhelming, which is stopping negotiations from advancing smoothly.

All efforts currently on the table are still insufficient and governments need to step forward, Figueres said.

Patricia Espinosa, Mexican foreign minister and president-designate of the Cancun UN Climate Change Conference, also emphasized the immediacy of "taking essential steps on climate change", urging negotiators to prove the multilateral meeting in Mexico "the only fair and effective route" to combat global warming.

More than 2,300 participants from 176 countries, including government delegates, scholars, representative from nongovernmental organizations and journalists attended the week-long climate meeting in Tianjin, a northern Chinese city.