United Nations-led negotiations resumed in Poznan, Poland Monday, as
more than 10,000 delegates from 186 governments met to discuss the
prospects of a new international climate change treaty to pick up where
the Kyoto Protocol ends in 2012.
The meeting, scheduled for December 1-12, marks the halfway
point in the a negotiating schedule set in Bali, Indonesia last
December. The schedule aims for an agreement by December 2009, leaving
two years for governments to ratify the proposed agreement within their
own legislatures.
The last round of talks took place in Accra, Ghana in August and concluded without any concrete agreement
between developed and developing nations. Under the Kyoto protocol,
developing nations were not required to cut their greenhouse gas
emissions. They insist that rich nations should make deeper cuts under
the next treaty and provide financial and technological assistance to
help developing nations adapt to a low-carbon future.
At the opening of talks yesterday, Yvo de Boer, head of the U.N.
Climate Change Secretariat, warned that their was no more time for
delay. "The clock is ticking, work now has to move into a higher gear,"
he said.
Outlook for Negotiations
Although many have questioned whether the global economic downturn
would affect climate change negotiations, some early signs suggest that
negotiators may be prepared to take significant steps forward.
China’s foreign minister, Yang Jiechi, was upbeat in comments
today, stating that his nation would do its part to reduce emissions.
"We will not shirk our responsibilities. Although we foresee continuous
growth of energy consumption in China, we will try to control the pace
as much as possible," he said.
Within the last month, China has shown an interest in taking a proactive, leadership role in negotiations.
Obama Effect
If increased involvement by China is met by strong U.S. leadership
under new president Barack Obama, international agreement may still be
possible within the set timeline.
Negotiators praised president-elect Obama’s committment to reduce U.S. emissions back to 1990 levels by 2020.
"I am delighted to see that … Obama is planning ambitious
energy and climate policies as part of the solution to the economic
slowdown," Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen said in a speech.
However, Obama’s incoming administration is not represented at the
Poznan talks. Harlan Watson the Bush administration’s chief negotiator
continued to defend his president’s lack of action on climate change.
To his credit, he added: ""We are going to make positive
contributions here so that the next team can pick up the ball and carry
it forward."
Important Events on the Sidelines
So far, some of the biggest announcements have come from actions taking place outside of the negotiations.
Brazil pledged to cut the rate at which it is destroying its
enormous secton of the Amazon rainforest. Over the next decade the
country said it will reduce by half its yearly deforestation to roughly
2,260 square miles.
While the Brazilian government said it hoped to improve its credibility
on environmental issues, rainforest advocates note that they’ve been
pushing for deforestation for more than a decade, and Brazil’s pledge
will not have significant effect for at least another decade.
Poland’s Prime Minster Donald Tusk said that the European Union
is "very close" to a deal on a new climate change package. Negotiations
within the EU broke down in recent weeks as Poland, Italy and other
nations threatened to boycott new legislation, stating that their
economies could not survive increased costs during the ongoing
recession.
The EU is working on an agreement to cut emissions among its
member states to 20% below 1990 levels by 2020. Poland derives the vast
majority of its power from coal-fired power plants and could face heavy
costs, if required to pay for emissions permits.
But Tusk was upbeat about the possibility of the EU reaching agreement at its scheduled summit on December 11-12.
Stay tuned as the exciting saga continues…
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