Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
'Indiawillneverbeintimidatedbythreats',JayanthiNatarajan,India'schiefnegotiator,
said. 'How do I give a blank cheque and give a legally-binding agreement to sign away the
into a huddle and emerged with more words added to the text on the proposed destinations
of the road map. 'Legal framework' had been ditched for 'protocol or legal instrument'.
When 'legal outcome' was inserted at the last minute, the Europeans threatened not to
endorse the proposals. India, supported by China, strongly objected to its deletion. At the
suggestion of the chief Brazilian negotiator, it was replaced by 'agreed outcome with legal
force'. Thus the COP decided:
to launch a process to develop a protocol, another legal instrument or an agreed outcome with legal force under the
Convention applicable to all parties.
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Durban was a triumph for EU climate diplomacy. For the first time in two decades of
climate change negotiations, the EU had pulled apart the G-77. It then detached Brazil
and South Africa from the BASIC four, helped by China's apparent abandonment of a
long-standing position. As Stern drily observed, 'this is a significant package, I think, a
At the 2012 COP in Doha, it was back to business as usual. With Beijing insisting
on the division between developed and developing nations, Stern said the next climate
deal must be based on 'real world' considerations, not 'an ideology that says we're going
in an unsigned attack in the Xinhua News Agency showing the flimsiness of the Durban
Platform and just how little had changed.
As usual, the United States has challenged the principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities” … saying that
the future agreement on coping with climate change should be based on “real world” considerations and it should not
specify different responsibilities for rich and poor countries. But this really depends on what kind of real world the US
is living in. For 1.3 billion Chinese, the world is made up of developing and developed countries in which people live
very different lifestyles and are capable of doing different things … Between developed and developing nations, there is
a world of difference. That's why equality can only be realised when different players bear obligations in line with their
capacities.
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Discussionsonagreeingtoasharedvisiongotboggeddown,withtheEUcomplainingthat
the talks had yielded 'no progress' and the US opposing references to equity and 'common
butdifferentiatedresponsibilities'—aformulaviewedbydevelopingnationsasthebedrock
were backed by the UN secretary general. 'The climate change phenomenon has been
caused by the industrialisation of the developed world', Ban said in an interview. 'It's
only fair and reasonable that the developed world should bear most of the responsibility.'
