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UN Climate Talks Conclude in China With Little Sign of Progress
2010-10-09 10:53:40.132 GMT
By Stuart Biggs
Oct. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Talks aimed at reaching an agreement
to mitigate climate change neared a close in China with little
sign the world's biggest greenhouse gas emitters are resolving
their differences.
The U.S. and China sparred during the weeklong talks over
pledges to reduce carbon emissions made during United Nations
negotiations in Copenhagen last year. UN climate chief
Christiana Figueres said the two nations need to settle their
differences to allow other countries to make progress in the
negotiations.
"If each of them has a lack of clarity about the other
county's commitment, that's a conversation they need to have,"
Figueres, the executive secretary of the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change, said today. "While that
conversation is occurring, most other countries have been moving
forward with the text."
The talks in Tianjin were the last formal gathering before
envoys meet in Cancun, Mexico, for Nov. 29 to Dec. 10 talks to
help reach an agreement that the UN says is unlikely this year.
Last year's Copenhagen meeting ended in a non-binding accord as
talks broke down over issues including setting a global
emissions reduction target.
Chinese officials have acted as though the accord reached
in Copenhagen "never happened," Todd Stern, U.S. special envoy
for climate change, said in a speech yesterday at the University
of Michigan Law School at Ann Arbor.
Interpretation Rejected
"If he's saying that the Chinese government isn't
implementing the Copenhagen Accord according to his
interpretation of it, as the head of the Chinese delegation I'm
very proud," Chinese negotiator Su Wei said at a press
conference in Tianjin today. "Developing countries won't accept
his interpretation."
The U.S. wants China and some larger developing countries
to accept international scrutiny of their measures to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions. China said last year it will reduce
the carbon intensity of its economy, or emissions per unit of
gross domestic product, by 40 percent to 45 percent by 2020.
China said this week richer nations, including the U.S.,
should pledge deeper emissions cuts before developing nations
are asked to do more. The U.S. last year pledged to cut
emissions by 17 percent by 2020 from 2005 levels.
The UN Framework Convention estimates that current
emissions reduction commitments amount to a cut of between 12
percent and 19 percent from 1990 levels, short of the range of
25 percent to 40 percent it says is needed.
No Emission Pledges
"The heart of the negotiation has to do with emission
reductions, and there has been no movement in the pledges by
developed countries," Pablo Solon, the head of Bolivia's
delegation and Ambassador to the UN, told reporters today.
Elsewhere in the meeting, progress was made on creating a
new fund to provide long-term financing for developing countries
to mitigate and adapt to climate change, the UN's Figueres said.
Countries have also moved closer on the issue of afforestation,
Mexico's Secretary for foreign relations Patricia Espinosa told
reporters today.
"Some progress was made this week, progress that should
lead to some decisions in Cancun," Wendel Trio, Greenpeace
International's Climate Policy Director, said in a
statement. "But at times it has been like watching children in
a kindergarten."
China, the most populous country and biggest emitter of
greenhouse gases, was hosting a meeting of the UN Framework
Convention on Climate Change for the first time.
For Related News and Information:
Top renewable energy, environment stories: GREEN <GO>
Energy top news age: ETOP <GO>
Carbon data page: CARX <GO>
--Editors: Sara Marley, James M. Gomez
To contact the reporters on this story:
Stuart Biggs in Tianjin via Tokyo at +81-3-3201-3093 or
sbiggs3@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Reed Landberg at +44-20-7330-7862 or landberg@bloomberg.net.
