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Breaking News. Climate Talks Suspended

Published 14th December 2009 - 7 comments - 585 views -

African countries pulled the emergency cord in Copenhagen today as rich countries reluctance to discuss binding emissions reductions brought chaos to the negotiations.

Jeremy Hobbs, Executive Director of Oxfam International said:

“Africa has pulled the emergency cord to avoid a train crash at the end of the week. Poor countries want to see an outcome which guarantees sharp emissions reductions yet rich countries are trying to delay discussions on the only mechanism we have to deliver this – the Kyoto Protocol.

“This not about blocking the talks – it is about whether rich countries are ready to guarantee action on climate change and the survival or people in Africa and across the world.

“Australia and Japan are crying foul while blocking movement on legally binding emissions reductions for rich countries. This tit for tat approach is no way to deal with the climate crisis.”

African countries have refused to continue negotiations unless talks on a second commitment period to the Kyoto Protocol are prioritized ahead of broader discussions under a second LCA track. Australia, Japan and others have succeeded in stopping Kyoto Protocol discussions as a result. Of the two tracks of negotiations underway in Copenhagen the Kyoto Protocol is the only one which includes a mechanism for legally binding emissions reductions by rich countries.

via Oxfam

On the same issue -

Developing Nations Walk Out of Climate Talks

THE Copenhagen climate summit is in chaos after poor countries walked out of negotiations en masse today.

The G77, a group which represents 130 developing countries, walked out because it is concerned the existing Kyoto protocol will be abandoned.

Australia's Climate Change Minister Penny Wong confirmed that organisers were trying to fix the problem and coax back the developing world.

Many countries at the UN climate summit want a brand new treaty to tackle climate change, but the developing world wants the Kyoto protocol to continue as well.

Full story here

Note: Updates & personal comments to come

Category: UN Climate Change Conference 2009, | Tags: cop15, copenhagen, copenhagen, copenhagen,



Comments

Benno Hansen on 14th December 2009:

After a meeting with Connie Hedegaard, poor countries are in the negotiations again.

Fattige lande genoptager klimaforhandlinger

Vitezslav Kremlik on 14th December 2009:

Damn. The African bastards are after my money! And the push hard. Using climate as an excuse. Help… Robbers. Help. Someone call police…. Robbery…

Federico Pistono on 14th December 2009:

Damn. The African bastards are after my money!
Right… after we stole and forcefully extorted all their resources, enslaved their people and polluted their land.

But hey, that’s free market capitalism baby!

Daniel Nylin Nilsson on 14th December 2009:

I follow the negotiations via media, and this story made me realize how little media actually know. In Swedish (and Bulgarian) media yesterday, all was fine, and there was place for optimism. Today, all of a sudden there is a major rift…

I am not surprised by the rift, and I guess that the fact that they do it today and not later is a signal that this is a way to negotiate, rather than stopping the process. But I am surprised that no one in mainstream media hinted about this happening.

Federico Pistono on 14th December 2009:

But I am surprised that no one in mainstream media hinted about this happening.

Are you? I would have been surprised of the opposite.

Adela on 14th December 2009:

@Benno - Thank you for the update.

@Vitezslav - You’re rude.

@Federico - Indeed.

@Daniel - Nothing in the media here either, but the morning ‘roadblock’ reminded me about a saying “Desperate times ask for desperate measures.”

Paul Montariol on 15th December 2009:

We are locked up in negative logic.
The punishment is not a solution.

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