Leaked papers cause ruckus at climate summit
By John Heilprin |
December 10, 2009, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
DEVELOPING nations that face huge climate-change burdens are demanding that wealthy nations shoulder more of the costs, as a leaked Danish document and fresh evidence of a hotter planet raised temperatures at the United Nations climate conference in Copenhagen.
Negotiators yesterday were trying to bridge the difficult gaps among 192 nations and stem a growing chasm between rich and poor on the third day of the conference.
Small island nations, poor countries and those seeking money from the developed world to preserve their tropical forests were among those upset over competing draft texts attributed to Denmark and China outlining proposed outcomes for the historic December 7-18 summit.
Some of the poorest nations feared too much of the burden to curb greenhouse gases is being hoisted onto their shoulders. They are seeking billions of dollars in aid from wealthy countries to deal with climate change, which melts glaciers that raise sea levels worldwide, turns some regions drier and threatens food production.
Activists angry
Diplomats from developing countries and climate activists complained the Danish hosts preempted the negotiations with their draft proposal.
Lumumba Di-Aping of Sudan, the head of the 135-nation bloc of developing countries, said the US$10 billion fast-track pledge from the United States, the European Union, Japan and other wealthy nations paled compared to the more than US$1 trillion spent to rescue financial institutions.
"If this is the greatest risk that humanity faces, then how do you explain US$10 billion - unless it is an inducement for some countries to accept the Western-backed proposal?" he said. "Ten billion will not buy developing countries' citizens enough coffins."
The Danish draft proposal would allow rich countries to cut fewer emissions while poorer nations would face tougher limits on greenhouse gases and more conditions on money available to adapt.
"It focuses on pleasing rich and powerful countries rather than serving the majority of states who are demanding a fair and ambitious solution," said Kim Carstensen of environmental group WWF.
Deeper aims
A sketchy counterproposal attributed to China would extend the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which required 37 industrial nations to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases blamed for global warming by an average 5 percent by 2012, compared with 1990 levels.
The Chinese text would incorporate new, deeper targets for the industrialized world for five to eight years.
Developing countries would be covered by a separate pact that envisions their taking action to control emissions, but not in the same legally binding way. No targets would be specified for them.
Poorer nations believe the two-track approach would best preserve the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities" recognized by the Kyoto treaty.
These two proposals are not yet recorded as official conference documents.
"It has no validity," EU negotiator Artur Runge-Metzger said, speaking of the Danish proposal. "It's only a piece of paper. The only texts that have validity here are those which people have negotiated."
Negotiators yesterday were trying to bridge the difficult gaps among 192 nations and stem a growing chasm between rich and poor on the third day of the conference.
Small island nations, poor countries and those seeking money from the developed world to preserve their tropical forests were among those upset over competing draft texts attributed to Denmark and China outlining proposed outcomes for the historic December 7-18 summit.
Some of the poorest nations feared too much of the burden to curb greenhouse gases is being hoisted onto their shoulders. They are seeking billions of dollars in aid from wealthy countries to deal with climate change, which melts glaciers that raise sea levels worldwide, turns some regions drier and threatens food production.
Activists angry
Diplomats from developing countries and climate activists complained the Danish hosts preempted the negotiations with their draft proposal.
Lumumba Di-Aping of Sudan, the head of the 135-nation bloc of developing countries, said the US$10 billion fast-track pledge from the United States, the European Union, Japan and other wealthy nations paled compared to the more than US$1 trillion spent to rescue financial institutions.
"If this is the greatest risk that humanity faces, then how do you explain US$10 billion - unless it is an inducement for some countries to accept the Western-backed proposal?" he said. "Ten billion will not buy developing countries' citizens enough coffins."
The Danish draft proposal would allow rich countries to cut fewer emissions while poorer nations would face tougher limits on greenhouse gases and more conditions on money available to adapt.
"It focuses on pleasing rich and powerful countries rather than serving the majority of states who are demanding a fair and ambitious solution," said Kim Carstensen of environmental group WWF.
Deeper aims
A sketchy counterproposal attributed to China would extend the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which required 37 industrial nations to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases blamed for global warming by an average 5 percent by 2012, compared with 1990 levels.
The Chinese text would incorporate new, deeper targets for the industrialized world for five to eight years.
Developing countries would be covered by a separate pact that envisions their taking action to control emissions, but not in the same legally binding way. No targets would be specified for them.
Poorer nations believe the two-track approach would best preserve the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities" recognized by the Kyoto treaty.
These two proposals are not yet recorded as official conference documents.
"It has no validity," EU negotiator Artur Runge-Metzger said, speaking of the Danish proposal. "It's only a piece of paper. The only texts that have validity here are those which people have negotiated."
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