Barcelona climate talks beset by rich-poor stalemate

Acceptance appears to be growing among both rich and poor countries at the UN climate talks in Barcelona that no binding deal will be reached in Copenhagen next month
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 5 November 2009 15.06 GMT
The gap between rich and poor countries over a global climate deal appears insurmountable at UN talks in Barcelona, with countries sticking to positions that are fundamentally as far apart as they were a month ago.
America indicated yesterday that a legally binding agreement was probably impossible, and acceptance is growing among both rich and poor countries that no binding deal will be reached in Copenhagen next month and that talks could drag well into 2010 or beyond.
Lumumba Di-Aping, the Sudanese chair of the G77 group of developing nations said rich countries had to move further. "We call on developed countries to step up to the challenge. We believe they have a moral, financial and political responsibility to live up to the challenge," he said.
Di-Aping insists that rich countries cut emissions by 40% by 2020, as proposed by UN scientists, a figure way above the aggregate 16% that is on the negotiating table now.
"We try to be optimistic [but] we cannot accept total destruction of our countries as a choice for developing countries. Anything south of [an emission cut of] 40% means Africa is destroyed.
"If you take the EU position of a 20 or 30% cut the result is to condemn developing countries to total destruction, loss of livelihoods, and economies, land forests will be destroyed. You can't solve the climate change problem by tinkering around the edges."
Di-Aping also claimed that the rich nations could find the money to help poor countries adapt to climate change and insisted that it be managed by the UN rather than the World Bank. He further said the bulk of the money should come from public funds rather than carbon markets.
"The EU and US together found $20tr to avert the credit crisis," he added.
The EU responded that it had to be prepared for the talks to go on well into the future. "We are hearing many voices saying we should look for a framework agreement to allow the talks on a fully binding treaty to continue next year", said Artur Runge-Metzger, the European commission's chief negotiator.
"We want a treaty that is legally binding. We are aiming for it to be global and ambitious. But what we are hearing is that some countries are concerned there will not be enough time"
He admitted that the EU and G77 still differed fundamentally in many areas, including the amount of money to be made available, the channels it should go through, whether the money is public or private, and the cuts which rich countries should make to avoid catastrophic climate change.
Runge-Metzger said developing countries had a responsibility to cut emissions, as well as rich nations. "They already account for a huge part of world emissions and in future they will dominate. The developing countries will decide the fate of the globe," he said.
Bruno Sekoli, chair of the least developed group of countries, said that it was more important to get a good deal, however long it takes. "We do not want a compromise deal. If it takes a year, even two years, then we will continue talking. A bad deal is not good for Africa or vulnerable countries."