United States Blocks Success of Climate Summit

Lumumba Stanislaus Di-Aping was the chief negotiator for the G77 in Copenhagen at the United Nations Climate Change conference. He said that the policies of the western imperialist states will cause the deaths of millions in Africa., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.

United States blocks success of climate summit - Africa, LDCs

Climate summit - Members of the African Group and the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) attending the UN climate talks in Panama have expressed outrage over what they called blocking tactics that threaten the success at the UN Climate Change Summit in Durban, South Africa, later this year. The members Thursday called on the United States and other industrialised countries to stop blocking progress on climate finance and to help the negotiations move forward.

'Climate finance is crucial for the survival of the world's poorest countries and people,' said Pa Ousman of the Gambia and Chair of the LDC Group. 'We call on the developed countries to honour their promises and to unlock progress in the negotiations here in Panama.'

According to a statement made available to PANA here from the meeting, African countries and LDCs expressed concern over efforts by the wealthiest countries to stall finance negotiations, while advancing aggressively on other issues favored by the developed countries in Panama.

In negotiations on finance, the United States said that long-term climate finance was addressed in Cancun, Mexico, and that there was no mandate to discuss it further.

Japan said following Cancun, there was nothing more to discuss on long-term finance. Other developed countries also sought to stall progress.

This has prevented a text being tabled on finance as the basis of negotiations, despite this being the last meeting before Durban, and despite texts being tabled on many other issues favoured by the developed countries.

'Agreement on long-term finance must be at the foundation of the deal in Durban,' said Tosi Mpanu Mpanu, from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Chair of the African Group of countries.

'We have demonstrated good faith in discussing new responsibilities for developing countries, we expect good faith from our partners in discussions how to implement their existing finance commitments,' Mpanu added.

In the negotiations, developing countries have noted that there were no finance pledges starting in 2013, immediately after the 2010-2012 climate finance pledge ends, yet developed countries expect developing countries to take on new responsibilities.

Also to be confirmed are the sources of finance, and how it will be provided in a predictable and transparent manner.

To move the negotiations forward, developing countries have called for a meeting with the Chair of the negotiations and all countries to discuss how to get the negotiations back on track and to ensure all issues move forward together.

The concern of African negotiators is backed by Environment Ministers from over 50 countries who collectively expressed concern at the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment on 15-16 September 2011, in Bamako, Mali:

At the UN Climate Change Conference in Cancun last year, developed countries pledged 'new and additional' climate finance approaching US$30 billion between 2010 and 2012, and climate finance of US$100 billion per year by 2020.

Among other things, African countries and LDCs expect the Durban Climate Conference to yield agreement on: the sources and scale of public financial resources to be provided by developed countries for the period commencing in 2013; enhanced transparency in the provision of new and additional financial resources through a common reporting format; and on the operationalisation of the Green Climate Fund and the Standing Committee on Finance.

Pana 07/10/2011