Bonn voyage to Kyoto?
UN Talks in Bonn “lack weight” as countries struggle to agree on legally binding terms and reject Kyoto’s next phase.
Delegates from around the world have been struggling to agree as the UN Climate Change Conference in Bonn Germany winds down. This comes as Canada states that it will reject the second phase of the Kyoto Protocol, intended to commence next year.
The 12 day summit, which is a precursor to COP17, to be held in Durban next year, was supposed to set the framework for the next phase of the Kyoto protocol which ends in 2012.
But delegate officials said that with the reluctance of countries to reach tangible agreements, the conference was making “little or no progress in dealing with substantive issues.”
The Kyoto Protocol is the only legally binding agreement reached by the international community on climate change. But with countries like Canada, Japan, Russia and the US refusing to renew it past 2012, Kyoto’s second phase is becoming increasingly doubtful.
This summit comes also after an IEA report saying that energy-related carbon dioxide emissions increased to hit a all-time high of 30.6 billion tonnes in 2010.
Some officials say that if the Kyoto Protocol agreements end, the international community will no longer have any legally binding regulations on emissions reduction and that “greenhouse gases will then be emitted without punishment, bringing the future of this planet into question.”
Judith Gelbman, a member of Canada's delegation, said that Canada will not pursue the second phase of Kyoto, arguing the protocol should be replaced with a new one.
Jorge Argüello, chairman of the G77 group of 134 developing countries, said that the withdrawal of Annex 1 countries like the US and Canada is political: “Make no mistake: this is not a procedural negotiation. The negotiations are highly political.”
These countries have been criticised for failing to launch the Green Climate Fund, which was established at the Copenhagen Summit in 2009. The fund pledged to raise $100 billion by 2020 for developing countries to tackle climate change and a $30 billion ‘fast-start finance’ which was supposed to be distributed by 2012.
Ilana Solomon, climate expert with ActionAid, said that the US delegation’s refusal to talk about finance in the current UN process was “simply unacceptable.”
Despite the criticism, Mr. Argüello called for countries to strengthen work relation in preparation for COP17 and Rio 2010. He said: “What is at stake is the chance for Durban to mean we get back on track in order to preserve the environment.”
Image: Oxfam International | Flickr
