Doha ends in new stalemate as climate change efforts inch forward

By Zhang Mengxu Source:Global Times Published: 2012-12-11 20:50:04

Illustration: Liu Rui
Illustration: Liu Rui

The 18th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) closed on Saturday evening in Doha, Qatar, after a whole day's delay. A package of resolutions has been passed by the conference. The conference also made sure that 2013 to 2020 will be the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol.

There were three main topics at this conference: to reach agreement on the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol, to make a timeline for the introduction of the Durban platform and to establish the Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action.

All of these three topics are still being debated, and the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol was the only visible achievement in this conference. However, the parties failed to reach a consensus on finance and technological issues, which will be left for further consultation. 

Although the parties have reached an agreement on the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol, some developed countries, like Russia, Japan and New Zealand, have repeatedly declared that they will not approve it.

The US and Canada didn't even sign the Kyoto Protocol. Russian delegates protested against the resolution after it was passed, and said the procedure at the conference was incorrect and the outcome was negative.

The agreement on the second commitment period is good news for African countries, small island states and developing countries. To them, the shorter this period is, the better, because it will promote the developed countries' emission reductions.

The final result is that this period will last for eight years, as the EU expected. The EU wants an eight-year period because it has nearly realized its emission-reduction target now, which means the next eight years will be a relaxed time.

Funding problems have been delayed to next year. There was a seesaw battle over this issue during the conference. Developing countries asked developed ones to settle the historical obligations on climate change, while developed countries found every possible reason to evade responsibilities.

The Green Climate Fund, launched at the 2011 UN Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa, is a mechanism to transfer money from the developed countries to developing countries, in order to help the latter counter climate change. But the operational rules and principles still haven't been established. This fund has caused hot debate during the Doha meeting, but developed countries as a whole didn't present a clear funding plan for the years after 2013.

Artur Runge-Metzger, director of International and Climate Strategy at the EU Directorate-General for Climate Action said that European governments have to tell the parliaments where the money has gone. However, there's no operational agreement for the fund. How can the countries fund it?

Hence we can see that although lots of resolutions have been passed, deep-rooted disputes between developed countries and developing countries still exist. The Doha conference was intended to be a connecting link between the two.

It had to implement the existing resolutions as well as make plans for future moves. However, it's been sadly difficult to ensure the implementation of existing resolutions, let alone close the gap between developed and developing countries over the new plans.

In fact, from Copenhagen and Durban to Doha, UNFCCC conferences have always been like debate competitions during which developed and developing countries have heated disputes about the responsibilities and promises. However, debate cannot really resolve the problems. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said during the meeting, "No one is immune to climate change. Rich or poor, we are in a race against time to avoid the worst impacts of climate change."

We need not only resolutions, but also real implementations of the resolutions. Climate change is a global problem. Implementation of the resolutions can be delayed but the process of climate change cannot. Sustainable global development needs the real implementation of Doha conference resolutions to boost the confidence of international society in dealing with climate change.

The author is a reporter with the People's Daily who reported on the Doha conference. He's now stationed in Egypt. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn



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