Rich nations, emerging economies criticise first climate draft

The first draft treaty to arrest climate change, issued after a week of intense negotiations, today was a target of attack by developed countries who dubbed the document as "flawed" for not imposing obligations on emerging economies to check global warming. 

The US went on to say that it was not ready to go into a deal without the developing nations taking up real action. The climate change talks appeared divided ahead of the high-level segment that commences next week which could see the environment minsters ramp up the negotiations.

India had also expressed unhappiness over the draft as it mentioned a "time-frame" for peaking of emissions which it said was unacceptable.

US envoy on Climate Change Todd Stern described the text as "unbalanced." "Most fundamentally, the United States is not going to do a deal without major developing countries stepping up and taking real action," Stern said.

Both the United States and the European Union stated that the present draft was completely inadequate when it came to mitigation actions by developing nations especially the emerging economies including China and India.

The draft "inadequately reflected" the obligations for mitigation by developing nations, senior US negotiator Jonathan Pershing said, adding that "time was running out" and parties would have to move expeditiously to fix the text.

The draft says that developed countries have legally binding commitments to take essentially Kyoto-style targets but does not in any sense call on major developing countries to set forth their own actions or stand behind them, Stern said.

The text also puts forward three proposals for reduction of global emissions by "all parties" by 50 or 85 or 95 per cent --from 1990 levels by 2050.

For "developed countries as a group" it put forward three options -- to "reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 75-85 per cent or at least 80 to 95 per cent or more than 95 per cent levels by 2050."

The draft says the countries shall combat climate change in order to ensure that the "global average temperature above pre-industrial levels ought not to exceed 1.5 or 2 degrees Celsius."

It also proposes that developing nations shall take appropriate mitigation actions with support of finance and technology from the developed world, a demand that India has been advocating. The goal for mitigation actions is bracketed (subject to change) which is in the range of 15-30 per cent by 2020.

Noting that "half of this historic meeting is over," a European Union delegate told the gathered negotiators that the text gave "too little certainty that the temperature will be below two degree Celsius."


On the mitigation front Stern stressed that the treaty presented a "loose framework of action by developing countries." Norway, Japan and Australia among other developed nations also called the text "loose" when it came to commitments of developing countries. The Brazilian delegate speaking on behalf of G77 and China stated the any forthcoming agreement must be based on the "continuation of the Kyoto Protocol."

India's Environment s ecretary Vijai Sharma stated that the "sanctity of the two tracks should be maintained" and "the Kyoto Protocol must be strengthened." India stated that any further documents should be "party driven, transparent and unambiguous."

China said the text indicated "good progress" but "substantive work had to be done" while South Africa registered its willingness to "engage with the text."

Delegates from 193 countries have been for a week attempting to hammer out a climate change treaty before the heads of state/government from over a 100 countries including prime minister Manmohan Singh, US President Barack Obama, Chinese premier Wen Jiabao begin to arrive late next week.