| Page 2 of 2 < |
Climate Change Compromise Plan Offered in Bali
|
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
The U.S. delegation did not respond to requests for comment on the proposed deal early Saturday.
The consensus proposal also seeks to help poorer nations reduce their emissions by easing the transfer of clean energy technology and would bolster their ability to adapt to such climate change consequences as flooding, drought and the spread of disease. The agreement calls for any future climate pact to seek out "new and additional resources" for poor countries struggling to adapt to global warming.
While several participants in the negotiations said they were confident delegates would approve the compromise proposal, representatives from some countries were trying to alter it at the last minute.
India tried to remove language aimed at making developing countries' emissions cuts "measurable, reportable and verifiable." They sought instead to apply that language only to industrialized nations' efforts to bolster poor countries' capacity to deal with climate change.
As the debate over how to treat developing countries dragged on today, environmentalists said they took heart from the fact that China appeared more open to engaging in a future climate framework than it has been in the past.
Phil Clapp, deputy director of the advocacy organization Pew Environment Group, said, "That's huge, because China never before has been willing to have its emissions, and its emissions reductions, verified in a way that would allow them eventually to enter the carbon market."
During Friday's sessions, negotiators agreed on a process to help financially compensate poor nations for preserving their tropical forests. The European Union environment minister, Stavros Dimas, said the forest package "is a good balance and is one of the substantial achievements of this conference."
Officials said the forest package would ensure that the future climate agreement to be negotiated by 2009 would reduce greenhouse gas emissions that arise from the burning and logging of forests worldwide.
Ned Helme, president of the D.C.-based Center for Clean Air Policy, said Norway's recent commitment to allocate $500 million a year toward protecting forests helped ease developing countries' concern that these projects would be used as "carbon credits" by industrialized nations hoping to avoid cutting their own emissions.
"That's real money," Helme said. "It makes it possible to solve this."
