Fate of Kyoto Protocol in spotlight at talks - China Daily Information Co (CDIC).

Posted - November 30, 2011 - Lan Lan China Daily

BEIJING - The global climate change talks in Durban got off to a rocky start, with developed and developing countries holding diverging positions, indicating tough negotiations ahead.
The fate of the Kyoto Protocol, the sole international agreement that obligates industrialized countries to slash carbon emissions, remains the essential issue of the summit.
Developing countries are calling for an extension of the first commitment period which expires in December 2012.
"It is hardly conceivable that a country would leave the Kyoto Protocol to do more," said Su Wei, China's top climate change negotiator.
He reiterated that the Kyoto Protocol is the cornerstone of the climate regime and its second commitment period is the essential priority for the success of the Durban conference.
The Durban conference should clearly establish the second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol where developed countries shall undertake quantified emission reduction commitments, he said.
"We cannot lower the bar for negotiations in Durban neither keep shifting goal posts," said Ambassador Silvia Merega of Argentina, on behalf of the Group of 77 developing countries and China.
"Durban should not be the burial ground for the Kyoto Protocol, rather, it should be the birthplace of the second commitment period."
"It must be preserved and strengthened if we are to ensure any meaningful multilateral response to the issue of climate change," she said.
Christiana Figueres, the UN's top climate official, said the protocol's future is "the defining issue of this conference".
She said an extension of Kyoto targets is linked to pledges that developing countries must make to join the fight against climate change.

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