Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
BackattheCOP,therewasturmoilafterBrazilresurrecteditsideaofcreatingaformula
tocalculatehistoricalblamethatithadfirstproposedin1997intherun-uptoKyoto.'They
things were better calculated to widen the gulf between developed and developing nations.
Itgotworse.Connie Hedegaard accused agroupof'like-minded developing countries'
(a new grouping with China and India at its core) of opposing a push to the 2015 deal by
insisting on the rich-poor country firewall. 'It is not acceptable to the European Union',
she said. Venezuela, speaking on behalf of the group, called the commissioner's comments
a 'brazen attack', responsible for seriously damaging the atmosphere of confidence and
in the 1992 convention to say that only developed countries are required to cut their
emissions. The move alarmed Todd Stern. 'I hope I'm wrong about what I heard, but it
would certainly be disappointing to move backward in time, not forward toward Paris,'
Stern commented.
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The worst came last. Negotiators wrangled over replacing 'commitment' with
'contribution' in the draft text on advancing the Durban Platform. Su Wei explained the
significance of the change. 'Only developed countries should have commitment', he told
the conference. Emerging economies could merely be expected to 'enhance action'.
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India's Jayanthi Natarajan put it brutally: 'The firewall exists and it will continue to
exist'.
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The final wording of the COP decision demonstrates the extent of Durban's
disembowelment, asking parties to make preparations:
for their nationally determined contributions, without prejudice to the legal nature of the contributions, in the context of
adopting a protocol, another legal instrument or an agreed outcome with legal force …
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To all intents and purposes, the Durban Platform had been demolished and the bankable
promises, on which the EU relied on to extend its Kyoto commitment, turned out to be
duds.
The day after the Warsaw COP ended, China's lead negotiator Xie Zhenhua spelled
out what it meant. 'Contributions' is a neutral word, which can be interpreted as either
'commitments' made by developed countries or 'actions' taken by developing ones.
Since Copenhagen, four rounds of climate conferences—interspersed with numerous
non-COP sessions—had achieved nothing substantive other than establish the principle
of climate change loss and damages, potentially opening the door to a bonanza for tort
lawyers. TheEUandtheUSundertheObamaadministration werethetwoparties withthe
strongest interest in obtaining a positive outcome from the negotiations. Yet the Europeans
