Stop Bickering & Start Acting on Emission Reductions
Environmental officials have urged industrialised and developing countries to stop bickering in climate change negotiations, as a Chinese delegate accused rich nations of reneging on commitments to fight global warming. This, as officials from more than 100 countries attended the annual UN environmental meeting on Indonesia’s resort island of Bali, location of the landmark “roadmap” conference of December 2007.
AP reports from Bali (27 February 2010):
Environmental officials have urged industrialised and developing countries to stop bickering in climate change negotiations, as a Chinese delegate accused rich nations of reneging on commitments to fight global warming.
Officials from more than 100 countries are attending an annual UN environmental meeting on Indonesia’s resort island of Bali.
They said trust must be restored among nations following the failure at the Copenhagen conference in December to forge a binding accord on cutting emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases which could threaten humanity.
‘There was a very strong message from many countries that this is actually an existential challenge,’ Indonesian foreign minister Marty Natalegawa told a news conference.
‘One overriding sentiment’ expressed by many countries ‘was the need to rebuild confidence, to address the question of trust deficit,’ he said.
At Copenhagen, nations agreed only on a voluntary plan to tackle climate change. The more than 190 nations will reconvene in Cancun, Mexico, later this year to try to reach a binding agreement.
The aim is to keep the Earth’s average temperature from rising more than 2 degrees celsius above preindustrial levels of the late 18th century.
UN scientists have said any temperature rise above that could lead to catastrophic sea-level rises, threatening islands and coastal cities. It would also kill off many species of animals and plants while altering agricultural economies.
Despite the call for harmony, Chinese foreign ministry official Guo Zaofeng accused developed countries of not living up to past commitments to cut greenhouse gases and provide funds and technology to poor countries grappling with global warming.
‘This way, they’ve broken the atmosphere of trust,’ Guo told AP. ‘This is why we did not get quicker progress during the negotiations.’
China, the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases, would cut its ‘carbon intensity’ – a measure of carbon dioxide emissions per unit of production – by 40 to 45 per cent by 2020, from 2005 levels, voluntarily, Guo said.
The head of the US delegation in the Bali meeting, Kerri-Ann Jones, refused to comment on Guo’s remarks. She said the Copenhagen meeting made progress, citing a plan for aid and technological support for poor countries.
‘It’s a very difficult challenge that we’re facing,’ Jones said. ‘We have to keep working on the positive side. I think we can advance.’
UN climate chief Yvo de Boer told AP it was unlikely that a binding agreement could be forged in the Cancun meetings.
‘It’s very close to the deadline and that’s a problem,’ de Boer said. The Cancun meetings are expected in November or December.
He said the focus should shift toward reaching an agreement at a summit next year in South Africa before the Kyoto Protocol, which set emissions targets for industrial countries, expires in 2012.
De Boer, who helped kickstart the climate talks in 2007 on replacing the Kyoto Protocol, last week announced he was resigning effective in July, but said his decision had nothing to do with the outcome of the Copenhagen meeting.
Since Copenhagen, 60 nations – including China, the US and the 27-member EU – last month submitted nonbinding pledges to the UN to reduce the heat-trapping gases.
The countries produce 78 per cent of the world’s greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels.
Source: www.bigpondnews.com