Bonn: Efforts to revive UN climate talks
after last December's Copenhagen Summit wrangled Saturday over
how to whip the arduous negotiation process towards a
post-2012 global treaty.
Countries sought a new platform for catalysing the talks
under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
banner and fought over whether to establish a single core
group of countries that would haggle over major issues and
then consult with their fellow nations.
Backers said the idea could end the battles that nearly
led to catastrophe in Copenhagen, where 120 heads of state and
government mustered for what was supposed to be a triumph.
"After two years we gave our leaders more than 100 pages
of brackets -- (it's) not exactly an endorsement of our
working methods," US chief delegate Jonathan Pershing said,
referring to the many parentheses denoting disputed text.
The European Union (EU), Australia and some developing
countries, including Bangladesh and Papua New Guinea, also
favoured the contact group, arguing that it could accelerate
matters yet not impinge on international consensus.
But other countries warned against any innovation that
sapped national sovereignty.
Bolivian chief delegate Pablo Solon blasted the process
as an "anti-democratic" huddle by the select.
"We need to have a plenary where all can speak," Solon
said. He characterised the UNFCCC as weakened by mistrust
after Copenhagen, and it was essential to recover "democracy,
full transparency, full participation, full inclusiveness."
PTI
First Published: Saturday, April 10, 2010, 22:33