The first three days of United Nations Climate Change talks in Poland have been busy, according to a press briefing given by Climate Change Executive Secretary, Yvo De Boer.
Much discussion has apparently been centered around the mechanisms for monitoring and limiting greenhouse gas emissions, and how these may be improved from existing schemes under the Kyoto Protocol.
Two workshops have been held to discuss the shared vision of a future climate change treaty, taking into account the four areas of adaptation, mitigation, technology and finance.
Developing nations continue to push strongly for developed nations to show leadership and take on ambitious targets for emissions cuts.
Developing nations welcomed president-elect Barack Obama’s plan for reducing U.S. emissions back to 1990 levels by 2020, but said it was not enough to set a pace for long-term goals and avoid dangerous global warming.
"It’s more ambitious than President Bush but it is not enough to achieve the urgent, long-term goal of greenhouse gas reductions," Tsinghua University’s He Jiankun, of the Chinese delegation, said on the sidelines of the talks, according to a Reuters report.
U.S. emissions are currently about 14% above 1990 levels.
And a group of 43 small island states insisted on even tougher goals, noting that they face the risk of being washed of the face of the earth all together.
Watch De Boer’s most recent press briefing at the link below.
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