Last week in Thailand, delegates meeting to discuss a successor climate-change treaty to the Kyoto Protocol, agreed to hold seven rounds of negotiations over the next 18 months.
In that regard, the goal of the first round of formal talks, which ended in Bangkok on Friday, was accomplished–though no major headway was made on the tough issues that must be addressed, if a treaty is to be completed by the target date at the end of 2009.
Referring to the schedule set for negotiations, United Nations climate chief Yvo de boer said, "Not only do we have the certainty that critical issues will be addressed this year, we now have the bite-sized chunks which will allow us to negotiate in an effective manner."
Negotiations are sure to be more heated at the next meeting set for June in Bonn, Germany. The first issue on the agenda is funding and technology to mitigate climate change–a major concern for developing nations, who feel that rich nations should bear the brunt of the financial responsibilities for addressing climate change.
"We can live with the work program but the negotiations ahead will be tough, very tough," said Prodipto Ghosh, a member of the Indian delegation. "There are wide divergences between different groups over the nature of the conclusions to be reached."
The major divergence at this time is over demands made by the U.S. and Japan, calling for binding targets on developing nations. These nations want the developed nations to accept binding targets, before they are willing to negotiate a Japanese proposal to set industry-specific targets.
Discussion on that proposal has been postponed until August, due in part, to strong opposition led by China and India, who said the Japanese proposal was aimed only at protecting the businesses of rich nations against competition from businesses within developing nations.
The August meeting will be held in Ghana, and will also address deforestation.
Pachauri To Seek Second Term
In related news, India’s Rajendra Pachauri said on Saturday he will seek a new six-year term as head of the U.N. climate panel that shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with former Vice President Al Gore.
He had previously said he was undecided as to whether or not he would seek a second term as head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
"I have after a great deal of reflection and consultation decided to express interest in a second term," Pachauri told Reuters.
India will have to nominate Pachauri, who is head of Tata Energy Research Institute in New Delhi.
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