Climate change delegates keep on talking
Delegates trying to rescue the Kyoto Protocol on world climate change were continuing their talks today after marathon negotiations which went on through the night.
The talks hit a stumbling block late last night over compliance - the penalties countries must pay if they fail to stick to the protocol.
Jan Pronk, chairman of the conference, in the German city of Bonn, said the issue was a ‘‘major hurdle’’.
But Environment Secretary Margaret Beckett, who heads the British delegation, took a break from the talks to say that a deal was ‘‘still eminently possible, but not certain’’.
Mr Pronk did not say which countries were holding up the talks, but it is widely believed that Japan is among them.
He was also optimistic that a settlement could still be hammered out.
‘‘It is my political conviction that it is possible to reach an agreement ... but I am fully aware if we don’t reach a result it will have a major negative effect on the Conference of the Parties (COP 7) in Marrakesh,’’ he said.
But he added: ‘‘I have come to the conclusion that if we don’t solve the problem we won’t have an agreement, and if we don’t have an agreement we will not be able to start the ratification of the protocol in time.
‘‘And if it doesn’t start to function then there are no mechanisms and the emission reductions will not be reached.
‘‘This is very important, let us try to get an agreement so we can work further.’’
Mr Pronk reminded the conference that it could not risk another failure like the collapse of talks in the Hague last November, which was why it was vital not to allow amendments to his compromise text.
‘‘I want to have full agreement, that was the aim,’’ he said.
The original Kyoto agreement set targets for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the hope of reducing the effects of climate change.
But one of the first acts of United States President George W Bush after he took office was to announce that Washington would not be implementing the treaty.
The Bush administration believes that the restrictions Kyoto would introduce would place too much pressure on US industry, a view shared by some other developed nations.
But European Union nations remain committed to the deal, arguing that it is needed to stop climate change triggered by pollution.
