Delegates from around the globe wrapped up two weeks of negotiations in Bonn, Germany on Friday with little progress made toward establishing a successor to the Kyoto Protocol.
Negotiators from 170 countries continued to disagree on the responsibilities of developed nations in addressing global climate change versus the responsibilities of poorer nations.
The next round of negotiations is scheduled for August in Accra, Ghana, but the theme is likely to be the same: developing nations accuse rich nations of delaying commitments to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Yvo de Boer, head of the United Nations Climate Change Secretariat, said, "The road ahead of us is daunting."
However, he insisted there is hope the negotiations can reach a conclusion by the deadline set for December 2009. Comparing the process to a marathon, he said it would be too hasty to conclude in the first few miles that they would not reach the finish line.
Some delegates and environmentalists did not share his optimism.
Aysar Tayeb of Saudi Arabia said, "The unfortunate reality of the situation is that we are not making progress."
Bill Hare of Greenpeace said the negotiations could fail if major developed nations do not stop "unconstructive tactics, nit-picking and roadblocks."
The U.S., Canada and Australia were singled out by Greenpeace and other groups for holding up the negotiating process, while China, Brazil, Switzerland and Norway were praised for their efforts.
Many are still holding on to the hope that a new U.S. president will take a strong leadership role in the negotiation process. Even if that were true, the timeline for reaching an international agreement in 2009 will be extremely tight.
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