Climate talks in danger of unravelling as China and US clash

[villager]

Source: Guardian

Climate talks in danger of unravelling as China and US clash

Environmentalists fear Copenhagen deal could fall apart over backsliding and changes to demands

guardian.co.uk

The heatwave that led to the Russian wildfires is a warning governments cannot afford to ignore at the Bonn climate talks, environmentalists warn. Photograph: AP
Global climate talks have sunk to a new low after China and the US clashed and rich countries lined up against poor in a refusal to compromise on emission reduction targets.

With just six days' negotiating time left before a critical meeting in Cancun, Mexico, some diplomats fear that the fragile deal struck in Copenhagen last December could unravel.

Rather than slim down the negotiating text to allow politicians to make choices at Cancun, the US, China and many developing countries all added pages to draft texts in a series of tit-for-tat moves that critics said had sent the talks backwards after a week of meetings.

"Events outside are consistent with what we can expect from climate change," said Jonathan Pershing, the lead US negotiator at this week's meeting in Bonn. "But I am very concerned that some countries are walking backwards in the progress made since Copenhagen. If we continue to go down this road, there is no hope of an agreement in Cancun. All parties are stepping back."

<snip>

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/06/climate-talks-us-china-clash

[damntexdem]

1. I didn't know that they were recently at risk of even raveling.

Since neither China nor the U.S. really plan to do anything about climate change, why should they even bother to clash?

[villager]

2. That's a good point -- it's like "talks" are going to get them to change anything

...only "collapse" will actually do that...

[karynnj]

3. Actually per Kerry speaking on CNN Sunday, China has just moved to price carbon

Yet the Republicans are still playing games.