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G20 vows to 'spare no effort' for Cancun climate meeting
2010-11-12 09:11:48.861 GMT
Nov. 12 (AFP) -- The world's 20 largest rich and emerging
economies including China vowed Friday to "spare no effort" at
upcoming climate change talks in Mexico, a year after Beijing
stymied a deal in Copenhagen.
"We will spare no effort to reach a balanced and
successful outcome in Cancun," the Group of 20 said in a
statement issued at the end of two days of talks in Seoul.
The vow came less than three weeks before 194 countries
meet in the Mexican resort city of Cancun for a second go at
hammering out an agreement to curb greenhouse gases after 2012,
when the current arrangement expires.
The climate gathering will take place in the lingering
shadow of last December's Copenhagen summit, which ended in
near-fiasco, due in no large part, critics say, to Chinese
reluctance to agree to binding commitments.
"Addressing the threat of global climate change is an
urgent priority for all nations," the G20 statement said.
"We reiterate our commitment to take strong and action-
oriented measures and remain fully dedicated to UN climate
change negotiations."
Despite the promise in Friday's statement, China has
routinely voiced reluctance to take the lead in curbing
greenhouse gases, saying it is not to blame for the situation
the world is in now.
"Developed countries have their historic responsibility
over climate change," Sun Zhen, a top China climate change
official said earlier this month in Hong Kong. "There is no
reason not to deal with this primary concern."
China and the United States clashed at a UN climate
gathering last month in the Chinese city of Tianjin, accusing
each other of blocking progress ahead of the Cancun summit.
The United States wants China, the world's largest source
of the greenhouse gases blamed for climate change, to commit to
curbing carbon emissions and developing countries to agree to
more scrutiny of their climate claims.
China has rejected pressure for outside verification,
saying it was a US attempt to divert attention from the fact
the United States has so far failed to get emissions-cut
legislation through Congress.
This law now appears even less likely to get the green
light following massive wins in this month's mid-term elections
for Republicans, who are generally less welcoming of
environmental constraints on business.
As the prospect of a path-breaking deal in Cancun has
dimmed, efforts have moved towards more modest and incremental
steps.
This has resulted in a focus on smaller goals -- deals on
deforestation, progress on financing and technology transfer --
which were echoed in the G20 statement.
"We all are committed to achieving a successful, balanced
result that includes the core issues of mitigation,
transparency, finance, technology, adaptation, and forest
preservation," the statement said.
The G20 members pledged to back sustainable development,
enabling countries to "leapfrog old technologies in many
sectors".
"We are committed to support country-led green growth
policies that promote environmentally sustainable global growth
along with employment creation while ensuring energy access for
the poor," it said.
ph/apj
-0- Nov/12/2010 09:11 GMT
