Even Kyoto fans like the UK admit the thing is dead and apparently Russia is “intransigent” but thousands of gravy train riders are still off for their 2-week South African holiday to save the world from, uh, people flying off to holiday in exotic locations.
Climate deal unlikely soon, as emissions grow – A new and broader climate deal is out of reach for now and instead nations need to focus on how to replace the ailing Kyoto Protocol before 2020, Britain’s minister of state for energy and climate change said on Monday.
The view is recognition that agreement on a pact that commits all major greenhouse gas polluters to curbing the growth in planet-warming emissions is slipping further away, in part because of sluggish economic growth and a mounting debt crisis.
Negotiators from nearly 200 nations meet from Nov 28 to Dec 9 in Durban, South Africa, for an annual summit on climate change. Previous talks have failed to secure a successor to Kyoto — the main global accord on tackling climate change.
Expectations for Durban are low, even as global greenhouse gas emissions keep rising, increasing the likelihood the world will miss a chance to limit warming to 2 degrees Celsius, the International Energy Agency says.
“The reality is, we’re not going to be able to agree a global, binding treaty at Durban,” Gregory Barker told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Mumbai. “The reality is, it’s unlikely we will be able to do that next year either, and probably not the year after that.” (Reuters)
Russia Intransigent on Kyoto Protocol Extension – Russia’s chief climate negotiator said the country will “never” sign up to extend the Kyoto Protocol for a second implementation period, casting further doubt on chances of a deal at the international climate conference in South Africa at the end of this month.
“We will never sign Kyoto 2 because it would not cover every country,” Oleg Shamanov, director of international cooperation on the environment at the Foreign Ministry, said late last week.
The comments came the same week that the International Energy Agency declared that the world has just five years to cut greenhouse gas emissions to avert “irreversible” climate change, putting pressure on governments to come up with a deal at the summit in Durban, which takes place from Nov. 28 to Dec. 9.
Refusal by Russia, Japan and Canada to renew Kyoto for a second period dashed hopes of an agreement at the Cancun climate talks last year. (The Moscow Times)
