Canada out of Kyoto, China offers possibilities, & nations look for common ground

Dispatches From Durban - Day 8

It’s been an action packed day in Durban with South African president, Jacob Zuma, and United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon walking the halls with the high level dignitaries to the negotiations process. The negotiations will now mainly focus on the Ad hoc working groups (AWG-KP and AWG-LCA), although Parties also continue to negotiate under the COP and CMP. In the LCA - many informal meetings are taking place and the Chair still intends to have a revised amalgamated text by Wednesday. Lord Stern announced the launch of the Momentum for Change Initiative, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, to recognize scalable public/private projects achieving significant sustainable growth.

The stark divides between developed and developing nations have threatened to put progress out of reach. The impasse was broken today when China announced that it would back the EU roadmap, but with 5 conditions, although European Commissioner for Climate Action, Connie Hedegaard, (pictured above) said in an interview that we should not be fooled into thinking that this was a new position from them. China's announcement that it was willing to sign a future binding agreement on reducing greenhouse gas emissions wouldn't soften Canada's stance on renewing Kyoto. Canada announced today that it is officially leaving the Kyoto Protocol.

The UN Secretary General spoke to the four outcomes he expects to see from Durban, namely the implementation of the adaptation framework agreed upon in Cancun, the Kyoto Protocol must remain for a second commitment period, further resolution on implementation of the Global Climate Fund, and a common vision for arriving at a legally binding treaty in the near future. Despite the appearance of measured progress in the plenary rooms, there is still a significant amount of demonstration in and around the International Convention Centre relating to a number of aspects of the negotiations.

Contact:
Neil Thomson: neil.thom...@sauder.ubc.ca
Alison Murphy: alison.mur...@offsetters.ca