Author: Ring of Fire Staff

The chief negotiator for the European Commission announced this afternoon in Barcelona that the failure of the U.S. Congress to pass legislation before December has doomed the chances for success in Copenhagen. Europe now predicts that a legally binding treaty is impossible to expect in Copenhagen, and that it could take up to a full year beyond the global summit this December in order to reach a binding deal. Artur Runge-Metzger, the chief negotiator for the European Commission, told reporters today that, “It was highly desirable to have the [U.S.] numbers on the table in Copenhagen. There’s no doubt.” Runge-Metzger confirmed that any chance of rescuing a deal in Copenhagen “depends then very much on President Obama himself, on how confident he feels [about] how far the process has moved forward, whether he can also put numbers on the table or not.” “Everybody sees political realities particularly in Washington and we know that the process there is slowing down politically,” he said.  “So we need to be flexible. We cannot say that Copenhagen is the end.” When asked whether Europe expected more rapid change from the Obama administration after eight years of Bush, Runge-Metzger said, “I have never expected the U.S. [position] changing totally. The interests in the different states are still the same as they were 5 years ago, 4 years ago, 3 years ago.” “The reduction targets is...

Negotiations among more than 190 countries meeting in Barcelonato address climate change continued today, but only on certain matters,as delegates from 50 African nations collectively shut down the talksabout how to extend the Kyoto Protocol when the first phase of theagreement expires in 2012. Africa refuses to continue the negotiationsuntil developed nations commit to reduce global warming emissions by atleast 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2020, a target that scientistssay is necessary to avoid catastrophic impacts from climate change. “Africa believes that the other groups are not taking talks seriously enough, not urgently enough,” said Kabeya Tshikuku of the Democratic Republic of Congo. “People are dying now while those who are responsible historically are not willing to take action,” added Algerian delegate Kamel Djemouai. Bydrawing a line in the sand, African delegates hope to elicit specificplans from the European Union, Australia, and other countries bound bythe Kyoto Protocol to slash carbon output. Developing nations demandthat the West put forth detailed numbers on emissions-reduction goalsas well as financial assistance for developing nations to spur cleantechnology deployment and adapt to unavoidable impacts of climatechange. Members of the G-77 plus China group expressed supportfor the African position today, and have asked the chair of the Kyotonegotiations to press developed countries for specific slash-and-cashtargets. Until those targets are announced publicly, “we should refrainfrom engaging in such a wasteful exercise,” said Sudanese delegateLumumba Stanislaus-Kaw Di-Aping, who...