Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Slow progress at Copenhagen talks


Slow progress at Copenhagen talks

A young girl sits on her father's shoulders at a demonstration in Copenhagen, 16 December
There have been ongoing protests throughout the two-week conference

Talks remain deadlocked at the climate summit in Copenhagen with just two days left to seal a global emissions pact.

Developed and developing nations remain at odds over who should cut emissions, how deep the cuts should be, and how much aid should go to poor countries.

But there has been some progress - wealthy nations pledged new funds to bankroll the war on global warming.

Dozens of world leaders are due to join the talks on Thursday, hoping to sign a new climate pact on Friday.

Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, who arrived in the Danish capital on Wednesday evening, said his attendance showed the importance China attached to a deal.

"I hope that the summit will yield a fair, reasonable, balanced and achievable result through the joint efforts of all parties," Mr Wen said in an official statement.

Speakers lined up to address Thursday's summit include German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula de Silva and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

US President Barack Obama is due to attend the final day of the meeting on Friday, when some 120 world leaders try to lay out a strategy to deal with climate change after the end of 2012, when obligations run out under the landmark Kyoto Protocol.

'Dangerous point'

But there is widespread scepticism that a deal can be reached.


COPENHAGEN LATEST

  • Australia's Kevin Rudd, Indonesia's Susilo Yudhoyono, France's Nicolas Sarkozy and Germany's Angela Merkel among world leaders due to address the conference on Thursday
  • Japan offers $5bn a year to poor nations if a deal is reached
  • Australia, France, Japan, Norway, the UK and US collectively commit $3.5bn over three years to combating deforestation
  • Ethiopia, on behalf of African Union, endorses the G8 and EU target for maximum temperature rise of 2C
Updated: 04:59 GMT, 17 December

Developing countries, led by China, accused host Denmark of a lack of transparency by suggesting language for the agreement without full consultation by all sides on the 194-nation summit.

And China told participants that it saw no chance of reaching an operational accord this week, an unnamed official told Reuters news agency.

After a day of long delays and finger-pointing on Wednesday, Britain's Energy and Climate Change Secretary, Ed Milliband, said the prospects for reaching a deal were on a knife-edge.

"People can kill this process, kill the agreement with process argument," Mr Miliband said, warning the talks were at a "very dangerous point".

The president of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, also said he was disappointed with the slow pace of negotiations, whilst Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said: "If the climate was a bank, a capitalist bank, [the West] would have saved it by now."

But the chief policy advisor the the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Olav Kjorven, told the BBC that all was not lost.

"It is possible to reach a strong and meaningful agreement in Copenhagen still," Mr Kjorven said.

"At least it should be a very, very good strong start that can then lead to stronger additions later on."

Small progress

On a more promising note, Japan promised poorer nations $15bn (£9bn) over three years if a deal is made.

The amount - payable from 2010-2012 - adds to the £3.5bn ($5.7bn) per year commitment made by EU leaders at their summit last week.

Another pledge came from a six-member group - Australia, France, Japan, Norway, the UK and US - which will collectively commit $3.5bn over three years to combat deforestation.

CLIMATE CHANGE GLOSSARY

Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, speaking on behalf of the African Union, also announced dramatically reduced expectations for climate aid from rich nations.

Denmark said it was trying to simplify several complex draft negotiating texts to help the world leaders to agree on a deal.

Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen has taken charge of the Wednesday-Friday segment involving heads of state and government.

Tensions also flared outside the summit, where police used clubs and tear gas to stop some 2,500 activists who tried to march on the tightly-guarded Bella Center.

Police detained some 260 protesters during the clashes, which led to injuries on both sides.


Are you in Copenhagen? Are you taking part in the demonstrations or are you a delegate at the talks? What is the atmosphere like? Send us your comments using the form below.


FROM OTHER NEWS SITES
Business Day China sees no chance of climate deal this week - source - 33 mins ago
ABC News China Sees No Chance of Climate Deal -Source - 35 mins ago
Reuters UK China sees no chance of climate deal - 37 mins ago
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U.S., India Are Partners
30 November 2009
US President Obama Welcomes Indian Prime Minister Singh at the White House Nov. 24, 09
US President Obama Welcomes Indian Prime Minister Singh at the White House
Less than a week prior to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's official visit to Washington, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns summed up the importance of a working partnership between the U.S. and India: "Few relationships will matter more to the course of human events in the 21st century than the partnership between India and the United States."

Administration officials have said it is no co-incidence that Prime Minister Singh is President Obama's first official state visit. It reflects the great respect and friendship the people of the United States feel for India and its people. "But above all," said President Obama to Prime Minister Singh during the official Welcoming Ceremony on November 24th, "your visit, at this pivotal moment in history, speaks to the opportunity before us -- to build the relationship between our nations, born in the last century, into one of the defining partnerships of the 21st century."

India is indispensable as we work to build that future, said President Obama:

"As leading economies, the United States and India can strengthen the global economic recovery, promote trade that creates jobs for both our people, and pursue growth that is balanced and sustained.

"As nuclear powers, we can be full partners in preventing the spread of the world's most deadly weapons, securing loose nuclear materials from terrorists, and pursuing our shared vision of a world without nuclear weapons.

"As people who've known the pain and anguish of terrorism, we can stand together -- cooperating to prevent future attacks, and promote the development and prosperity that undermines violent extremism."

Our two countries can be partners in developing clean energy, addressing climate change, and reducing hunger and poverty.

"As the world's largest democracies, we can keep faith with our common values -- speaking out and standing up for the rights and dignity to which all human beings are entitled; and showing that nations that respect the rights and aspirations of their people are ultimately more stable, more secure and more successful."

"This is the India that America welcomes today -- a leader in Asia and around the world," said President Obama. "These are the challenges we are summoned to meet in partnership. This is the progress that is possible -- today and in the days and years ahead."

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