Climate Talks Stuck

There are signs that despite all the hype about the need for urgent global action, the UN climate talks in Nairobi are “stuck” on the most fundamental issue: a review of the Kyoto Protocol. At the moment there will be no deal on mandatory cuts in emissions and a firm timetable for negotiating cuts also looks unlikely.

The draft agreement only speaks of discussions, not formal negotiations, beginning in the next few months, but with no timetable for starting and finishing the negotiations themselves.

“Ministers are simply not reflecting the urgency which is being felt in the real world,” said Catherine Pearce, international climate campaigner with Friends of the Earth UK. “We are still not seeing the bold leadership which is needed here”.

Well there is a depressing surprise…