Brasília – With only four days left before the end of the 15th United Nations Climate Change Conference, negotiators from 192 countries are running against the clock to reach an agreement, after a tense start of the week that even led the meeting to be temporarily suspended. The information was supplied by BBC Brazil.
The ministers heading the different delegations are going to consult informally with each other, in an attempt to unlock negotiations for both an agreement that will include the United States and a sort of extension of the Kyoto Protocol.
On this Wednesday (16th), the ministers will be replaced by the heads of state that will start arriving in Copenhagen on this Tuesday (15th). The Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has already left the country headed for Denmark.
On Monday (14th), representatives of African delegations abandoned the negotiation sessions, leading to a temporary suspension of the meeting – for approximately five hours. Dissatisfied G77 representatives were demanding that negotiations did not concentrate in a new agreement only, but rather in an extension of the Kyoto Protocol.
Some developing countries are fearful that on dropping out of Kyoto, industrialized countries will dodge commitments that they have already made – such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 5.2%, compared with 1990 emission levels, up until 2012 – and at the same time demand more from emerging countries.
From the perspective of industrialized countries, there is fear of making new commitments under Kyoto that might hinder the economy, whereas the United States – which has not ratified the protocol currently in effect – would escape once again.
Taxing the rich?
President Lula ruled out the idea of increasing tax on products from wealthy nations that refuse to set carbon dioxide emission reduction targets. He rejected the proposal when answering a reader’s question on his weekly column O Presidente Responde (The President Replies), published on this Tuesday (15th).
"Even though developed countries are resisting adopting relevant measures for reducing CO2 emissions, Brazil cannot resort to illegal trade measures. Our country must meet the commitments made at the World Trade Organization. Increasing tariffs on products from developed countries alone would be a discriminatory measure," Lula replied to the reader who suggested for the Brazilian government to increase taxes.
Lula underscored that Brazil has made a voluntary commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 36.1% to 39.8% by 2020. According to him, after Brazil announced its target, the United States and China also presented their emission reduction targets.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
