Climate change talks wrap up in Bangkok

Wasantha Ramanayake in Bangkok

Climate change talks wrapped up yesterday in Bangkok with the developing countries deploring the developed for their non-commitment to the science-based agreement, amidst scores of climate disasters sweeping across Asia aggravated by global warming.

Holding their wrap-up media briefing at the UN Conference Centre in Bangkok G77 to which 132 developing countries including India and Sri Lanka belong alleged that it was the year before that the European Commission decided to move away from the Kyoto Protocol saying that they could no longer save it.

'They have wasted almost 20 months in negotiation,' he said. However, he emphasized that developing countries are committed to save the Kyoto Protocol.

'We would do our best to live up to the protocol,' he said.

He further said that there are very clear signs that the developed countries do not want to negotiate on the second commitment period after 2012.

Instead they intended to migrate into a loose, legally not binding agreement that would not be effective in addressing climate changes.

'This is like to say that I will throw away the baby and have a new baby,' he said.

But in quite contrast to the G77 allegations the European Commission in their wrap up briefing told reporters they do not want to abandon Kyoto Protocol and said that they actually saved it once and were prepared to save it again.

European Chief Negotiator Artur Runge-Mezger said that they were prepared to achieve the targets set under the first commitment period ending in 2012 under the protocol. However, they emphasized the need to have a one legally binding treaty in which they could include all the US and major emitters as well as the advanced developing countries.

US Deputy Chief Negotiator Jonathan said the US too was committed to the Copenhagen climate summit.