New Climate Deal May Have To Wait
By BBC
17 December, 2009
BBC
The Danish presidency of the climate summit in Copenhagen has sought to play down expectations of a comprehensive deal emerging from the meeting.
Officials said progress could be made, but an international agreement may have to wait until a 2010 meeting in Mexico.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told the meeting her country was prepared to work towards mobilising $100bn a year for developing countries.
The deadlock in talks at the climate summit has now been broken.
But the summit's hosts, Denmark, had to drop plans to propose new draft texts on Thursday after opposition from many developing nations.
A source told the Danish newspaper Politiken: "We are fighting like mad and we haven't given up, but we will need help from world leaders. They must put their money where their mouth is. Otherwise it'll be very difficult."
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 adaptation to climate change.
On Thursday, Mrs Clinton told delegates: "In the context of a strong accord in which all major economies pledge meaningful mitigation actions and provide full transparency as to those actions, the US is prepared to work with other countries towards a goal of mobilising $100bn a year to address the needs of developing countries."
She made it clear - as did Japan on Wednesday when announcing a specific figure for assistance - that the money was contingent on reaching a global deal here that met its criteria.
BBC environment correspondent Richard Black said developing countries are likely to point out that there is no figure for what the US is prepared to provide itself, either from public or private finance.
The sum is also less than the amount that UN agencies such as the World Bank and International Energy Agency calculates is necessary to help mitigation and adaptation in the developing world.
But transparency is emerging as a major sticking point for the US. It wants some developing countries to open their emissions controls to scrutiny.
China and India say they are willing to take voluntary measures to slow their emissions, but they are reluctant to accept tight international oversight.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the administration believed there was still a chance of deal, but China needed to give ground on the US demand for transparency. He told Reuters news agency that if reports were true that China was balking at a climate deal, the US hoped it would reconsider.
There has been no immediate response from the Chinese delegation.
At least 130 world leaders are due to join the talks on Thursday, hoping to sign a new climate pact on Friday.
Addressing the summit on Thursday, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said he feared "a triumph of form over substance" at the outcome of the UN climate summit.
In his speech, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown urged the summit to "summon up the greatest level of ambition".
"The success of our endeavours depends on us forging a new alliance," he told delegates.
He added: "In these few days in Copenhagen which will be blessed or blamed for generations to come, we cannot permit the politics of narrow self-interest to prevent a policy for human survival."
Taking charge
US President Barack Obama has been due to attend the final day of the meeting on Friday, when world leaders will 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.
But asked about rumours that President Obama might not attend, Mrs Clinton said: "The President is planning to come tomorrow. Obviously we hope there will be something to come for."
Yvo de Boer, executive secretary of the UN's climate body, told reporters that negotiators would consider two negotiating texts; one looking at further emission cuts by developed nations (except the US) by 2020, and another that looks at committing all nations to curbing climate change.
Mr de Boer added that the texts would be considered by two working groups, which were expected to report back to the main conference on Thursday evening.
Saleemul Huq, senior fellow in cliamte change at the International Institute for Environment and Development told BBC News: "The negotiation process is in a high state of confusion."
"On the other hand, heads of state are arriving and talking to each other, and within hours every important decision-maker on the planet will be in the same town at the same time.
"If they can't do it, no-one can - and I think that they will."
India's environment minister Jairam Ramesh said a "blame game" had already begun because of the slow progress towards a deal.
Containing emissions to a level associated with a temperature rise of no more than 2C is the stated aim of the big nations here.
As things are going they will miss that target by a considerable margin, our correspondent says.
The poorest and most vulnerable nations say emissions should be contained to a level associated with a temperature rise of 1 or 1.5C.
