Ministers huddle for climate talks
COPENHAGEN: Negotiations to forge an epoch-making pact on climate change went behind closed doors today, with a select group of environment ministers from 48 countries poring over a draft deal.
But the 12-day UN marathon entered its second week amid negligible progress on any of the major issues, stoking fears that the outcome — due to be put to more than 110 world leaders on Friday — would be a poor fudge.
Connie Hedegaard, chairing the talks in Copenhagen, insisted that, compared to a couple of months ago, procedural advances in the first six days had been “fantastic.” “The core discussions... have really started,” she said on Saturday.
She added, though: “We still have a daunting task in front of us over the next few days.” The conference under the UN’s Framework Convention on Climate Change is seen by some commentators as the most important parlay since the end of World War II.
Its goal is nothing less than taming greenhouse gases — the invisible byproduct, derived mainly from the burning of coal, oil and gas, that traps the Sun’s heat and warms Earth’s atmosphere.
Scientists say without dramatic action within the next decade, Earth will be on course for warming that will inflict drought, flood, storms and rising sea levels, translating into hunger, homelessness and misery for many millions.
But scaling back carbon emissions has become a fierce political issue, pitching rich countries against poor, and opening up divisions within each of those blocs.
To reduce their pollution, or brake their expected growth of it, countries have to become more energy-efficient or switch to clean renewables — and this carries an economic price.
The ministers gathering today were meeting informally, as the 12-day marathon took a day off.
If all goes well, the 194-nation conference under the UN’s Framework Convention on Climate Change will wrap up with a historic deal sealed by more than 110 heads of state and government.
More talks would be needed next year to agree on vital technical details, which themselves are a political minefield.
