A new climate treaty is unlikely to be inked this year, UN climate chief Yvo de Boer says, citing that there is no time for both rich and poor countries to recover from last December’s failed Copenhagen summit.
De Boer said more time was needed to set up framework for mitigation steps as well as financial and climate change aid that can persuade developing countries to support a new deal. The main priority is, he added, to rebuild confidence and trust in the process.
Developing countries need to be convinced that “there are incentives that will allow them to act on climate change but also meet national economic development goals”, he said.
“Only after that, countries can be expected to sign up,” he told AP.
De Boer said the focus should be shifted toward reaching an agreement at the 2011 summit in South Africa, a year before the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012.
Bickering between industrialized and developing countries over emissions cuts and financial assistance were blamed for the failure of the December talks. They ended up agreeing to settle only on a voluntary plan.
De Boer said 100 countries have expressed their willingness to associate with the non binding Copenhagen accord and their names are listed in the document. However, China and India have not yet said if they would sign although both have expressed commitment.
He said the two countries’ refusal to associate with the accord should not be exaggerated.
China and India are respectively the world’s top and fourth largest emitters but they are not required by the Kyoto Protocol to cut emissions.
De Boer said the two countries are among 60 others that had submitted targets on climate action plans.
“I think, in that sense, there is both political and substantive commitment within the context of the Copenhagen Accord,” he said prior to the closing of the UN environment conference in Nusa Dua, Bali.
Climate change science has suffered serious blows lately, starting with the failure of Copenhagen. The latest blow was de Boer’s resignation from his post, effective July 1.
Responding to the issue, de Boer said he personally thought it would be good to have someone from a developing country to take over his job.
Indonesia, he said, certainly has some eligible candidates, who have been dealing with the issues for years, fit for the job.
The biggest challenge faced by his successor is to push for a new treaty and find a way forward to address all countries’ interests and mobilize financial assistance.
Indonesia is preparing a candidate to run for the UN climate top post and is currently screening candidates.
“We are still looking for the right person. We don’t want our candidate to fail during the first phase of the selection process,” said Tri Tharyat, the Foreign Ministry’s deputy director for economic development and environment.
