Global General
Final accord reached at Cancun despite Bolivia's objection
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-12-11 19:54
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CANCUN, Mexico - The UN climate change conference finally reached a deal to fight global warming early Saturday after an all-night session, overruling objection from Bolivia.
"The texts on the table represent the work of many delegations that carry the hope of delivering what our societies expect," said Mexican Foreign Minister Patricia Espinosa, chair of the conference.
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Bolivia has been rejecting the two documents of the deal, saying they amounted to a blank check for developed nations, because the commitments set to be in documents which have not yet been published.
"We will get every international body necessary to make sure that the consensus is respected," said Solon, adding that the rules said that no agreement should be passed when one state strongly objects.
"Consensus does not mean that one nation can choose to apply a veto on a process that other nations have been working on for years. I cannot ignore the opinion of another 193 states that are parties," Espinosa replied. Her response received a huge applause from the floor.
Another Bolivian official also complained that his nation had been denied basic rights by the conference.
"We had asked for a workshop to consider the topic of intellectual property during a workshop in 2011," the official said. "Bolivia has not even given the most basic opportunity."
The documents of the climate deal were approved at the plenary session after being considered first by an informal plenary session and then being passed to the two working groups regarding the Kyoto Protocol and longer commitment actions (LCAs), respectively.
At the start of Friday's session, Mexico, the host country, published a draft of the deal that includes detailed financing plans but no plans for binding emissions cuts.
Most nations, including some of those most vulnerable to climate change, expressed support for the draft documents, although there were several nations that expressed reservations about the final accord.
The two-week long talks in Cancun were aimed at setting new targets - and finding new ways - to try and combat climate change.
The high profile discussions included some 25,000 government officials, businessmen, researchers and lobbyists - from more than 190 countries.
The measures in the draft documents were widely supported by participants in an informal session late Friday.
Most speakers said the document was partial but still represented progress at the climate summit held in the resort city Cancun on Mexico's Caribbean coast.
"It is not perfect and it is not a done deal, but let us accept it and let's move forward," said Karl Hood, Grenada's minister for environment and foreign affairs.
Grenada's opinion is significant because it has the presidency of the 41-member Alliance of Small Island States, the nations most likely to suffer first from global warming.
Oceans are rising at twice the rate of the 20th century, researchers say, and Pacific islanders report they're already losing shoreline and settlements to encroaching seas.
"The parties have made good efforts in these negotiations," said Xie Zhenghua, deputy head of China's National Development and Reform Commission. "We have been satisfied because the negotiations have been guided by the principle of common but differentiated responsibility."
Both the United States and the European Union spoke in favor of the agreement during the meeting.
"I think this text points the way forward," said Todd Stern, the US representative in the climate talks. "Let us now do what it takes to get this deal done."
Connie Hedegaard, the Danish diplomat who represents the 27-member EU, praised the nations for their commitment to reaching an agreement and also offered the bloc's conditioned support.