Two more links on Bonn Climate Talks:

1- Climate: Steps seen in UN talks but dangers lurk

A round of UN climate talks was wrapping up Friday, helped by a dose of trust after the Copenhagen Summit but still troubled by the splits which drove that historic conference close to disaster. After 12 days of talks, delegates were issued with a gingerly-worded document which seeks to revive the quest towards a post-2012 treaty after the rows in Copenhagen last December. If approved, the draft text would become an official blueprint for negotiations. And in turn, if all goes well, that would culminate in a deal -- possibly by the end of 2011 -- which would slash emissions of greenhouse gases and channel billions of dollars in aid to poor countries in climate change's firing line. After Copenhagen, where bickering and nit-picking brought the world's biggest summit close to a breakdown, the mood in Bonn showed a good improvement, delegates said.

"Many of the issues, especially the issues that are important to developing countries, are being discussed in a more effective and constructive way," said Yvo de Boer, making his swan song as the UNFCCC's executive secretary. "This all in all is a big step forward, making much more possible in Cancun."

The talks were the mid-way point to the next big UNFCCC gathering, taking place in the Mexican resort of Cancun from November 29 to December 10. But beneath the brighter tone, problems of substance remained. Major blocs set down early markers of their opposition to the tentative text, drafted by Margaret Mukahanana-Sangarwe of Zimbabwe, who chairs the main negotiating group. The document puts forward a range of goals for cutting greenhouse gases, including slashing emissions by as much as 85 percent by 2050 compared with 1990 levels, and sketches objectives for climate aid and deforestation. Debate is likely to be furious at the next round of talks in Bonn in August over how to share out the burden and where to place priorities. In addition, the text still has big gaps, including the legal status of the post-2012 treaty. The so-called G-77 bloc of developing countries and, separately, the associations of African states, small island states and least-developed states, warned that they considered the text to have many gaps, weighed in favour of rich economies or even violating the principles of the UNFCCC.

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2- Poor nations dismayed over draft

THE two-week UN Climate Convention in Bonn ended on June 11 with mixed results for the developing countries. They suffered a setback when many key points were eliminated or ignored in a new paper produced by the Chair of a working group on long-term cooperation.

On the other hand, they succeeded in pressing for more action in another working group in which the developed countries must make new emissions-reduction commitments under the Kyoto Protocol. The talks had mainly been at a slow pace. But it gathered force on the last day, forcing delegates who had hoped to finish early to watch the opening match of the World Cup to instead continue with their meetings. The talks also re-established the United Nations as the only legitimate venue to get a global deal to act on climate change, following the disastrous conclusion of the Copenhagen Conference.

On the night of June 10, a revised draft of a basic deal on climate change was issued by Margaret Sangarwe of Zimbabwe, Chair of the group on long-term cooperation (LCA). The new paper drew critical statements from developing countries, with the G77 and China (the developing countries’ umbrella group) saying it was “dismayed” at the imbalances in the draft and urging that its positions and proposals be restored in the next draft. In a strong statement, China said it deviated from the Bali Road Map (which provides the mandate and terms of reference of the negotiations) by 50% and criticised the Chair for affecting the continued existence of the Kyoto Protocol, and “that is why we cannot accept it”. Other Asian developing countries who voiced objections included Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore, India, Pakistan, Bangla-desh and East Timor.

Malaysia said the text moved away from the Convention and the Kyoto Protocol, disregarding the developing countries’ need for development; for them to “peak” their emissions by 2020 when even the developed countries have yet to “peak”; and places very onerous obligations on developing countries to have their actions subject to international analysis. The text also obliged developing countries to have “low carbon development plans”, which was new and an imposition, and it had deleted many proposals.

The Africa group said the text was inconsistent with the developing countries’ demands for the equity principle, or for comparable emission cuts by developed countries, and threatens to replace the Kyoto Protocol. Brazil also expressed dismay at the text and called for a thorough revision. Several Latin American countries, including Venezuela, Bolivia and Argentina, also criticised the paper. In contrast, most of the developed countries gave the impression that they liked the paper, even though they mentioned certain shortcomings. A reading of the paper confirms that many of the developing countries’ key positions had been deleted whilst new obligations were imposed on them, some of which had not even been in earlier drafts or discussed properly.

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