In an event that may prove to be extremely important to the end result of the 15th COP in Copenhagen, developing nations walked out of negotiations this morning.
According to an article on Sky News African nations led a walkout this morning in protest of the way the Climate talks were heading. Their main reason was that they feel as though the developed nations were trying to back out of the Kyoto Protocol. They (developing nations) felt as though the Developed nations were trying to avoid having to curb their emissions as mandated by the Kyoto Protocol and that developed nations are attempting to “back out” of the only mechanism currently available to require an emissions reduction on the part of the developed nations.
Another article on news.com.au pointed out that many of the developed nations wish for an entirely new treaty, however the developing nations wish for the Kyoto Protocol to continue with or without a new treaty. The article outlines Australia’s stance on the issue, and says that Australia doesn’t want the Kyoto Protocol to be the only treaty to fight climate change as under the current structure, the US China and India are not obligated to reduce anything.
In a negotiating session I attended on Saturday the negotatior from Kuwait stressed his value on the Kyoto Protocol by saying “I don’t know why we would kill the mother before the child is born,” which effectively conveys why the developing world sees the need for some overlap when it comes to the Kyoto Protocol and a newer “Global Deal.”
It is certainly going to be an interesting development and unfortunately shows the only way that developing nations are able to ensure that their voice is heard in these negotiations.
