Negotiations resumed this week in Bonn, Germany for a United Nations climate treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol when it expires in 2012.
Six months remain before the December deadline for agreement in Copenhagen.
First Draft
Neither rich or poor nations were pleased with the first draft text of a climate treaty, but it was accepted as a starting point for negotiations.
"The session here represents a significant new step … Governments have on the table for the first time real negotiating texts," Yvo de Boer, head of the U.N. Climate Change Secretariat, told a news conference.
Developing nations said the text needed more "balance," including more possible actions to be taken by rich nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
U.S. delegates said the statement lacks a clear statement that all nations must participate in the fight against climate change.
Mexican Proposal
A Mexican proposal for raising climate change adaptation funds continues to draw support. The proposal suggests a formula for contributions based on the size of each nation’s gross domestic product, greenhouse gas emissions and population.
The plan won praise last week during the Major Economies Forum.
The size of the fund has yet to be decided. One report suggested $10 billion a year, but another said developed nations tentatively agreed on a plan to collectively raise $100 billion a year to help developing nations transiton from fossil fuels to clean energy resources. Funding for developing nations has been a major sticking point in negotiations thus far.
2020 Targets
This month marks a deadline for developed nations to propose emissions reductions targets for 2020. Russia and Japan are the only two major industrialized nations that have yet to outline such targets.
Japan, the world’s fifth largest emitter of greenhouse gases, said it would announce by mid-June a choice from six options ranging from a rise in emissions of 4% compared to 1990 levels to a cut of 25%.
A study issued by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research estimated that 2020 cuts outlined so far by developed nations added up to a reduction of between 8.2% and 14.9% below 1990 levels–far below the IPCC’s suggested range of 25%-40%.
U.S.-China Partnership
The U.S. wants to forge a partnership with China to address climate change, according to Todd Stern, the top climate negotiator for the U.S.
Stern will travel to China next week and said possible areas for collaboration include energy efficiency, electric vehicles and carbon capture and storage.
"This trip is one piece of what is going to be an extended interaction with the Chinese at all levels," he said. "So yes, the vision that we have is of a clean energy and climate partnership bilaterally with the Chinese."
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