China Is Doubtful of Copenhagen Deal

COPENHAGEN — With just two days remaining in historic and contentious climate talks here, China signaled overnight that it sees virtually no possibility that the nearly 200 nations gathered would find agreement by Friday.

An official in the American delegation said that China would agree only to a brief political declaration that left unresolved virtually all the major issues.

The conference has deadlocked over emissions cuts by, and financing for, developing nations, including China, who say they will bear the brunt of a planetary problem they did little to create. Leaders had hoped to conclude an interim agreement on the major issues that would have “immediate operational effect.” The Chinese, it appears, are not willing to go that far at this meeting.

Speaking to Reuters, an unnamed Chinese official was quoted as saying that “a short political declaration of some sort” would likely conclude the two-week summit, which has thus far stumbled over issues of emissions cuts by — and financing for — developing nations, including China, who say the will bear the brunt of a planetary problem they did little to create.

Whether the Chinese position represents political brinkmanship as senior ministers and heads of state begin arriving in Copenhagen for the final 48 hours of negotiations, or a genuine signal that Chinese officials are not inclined to settle the wide differences separating it and developed nations, was unclear on Thursday morning.

“I still believe it’s possible to reach a real success,” said the United Nations climate secretary, Yvo de Boer, at a press conference Wednesday night. “But I must say that in that context, the next 24 hours are absolutely crucial and need to be used productively.”

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is to arrive at the talks Thursday morning, accompanied by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other legislators.

President Obama is to arrive on Friday, joining some100 other heads of state who plan to come to Copenhagen to put a high-level stamp on whatever document might arise from the meeting.

But with the clock ticking, continued bickering among delegations would seem to be making the likelihood of a significant breakthrough increasingly slim.

The continued deadlock is due in large measure to delays and diversions created by a group of poor and emerging nations intent on making their dissatisfaction clear. The Group of 77, as it is called, has raised repeated objections to what its members see as the economic and environmental tyranny of the industrial world, often in florid language.

“The rich are destroying the planet,” said Hugo Chávez, the socialist president of Venezuela, on Wednesday. “Perhaps they think they’re going off to another one after they’ve destroyed this one.”

On Monday, African nations briefly brought the climate talks to a standstill. China, by far the largest economic power in the group, has dragged its feet throughout the week by raising one technical objection after another to the basic negotiating text. And on Wednesday night, the group refused to take part in negotiations that conference organizers had hoped would produce a definitive negotiating text by Thursday morning. Instead, many Group of 77 leaders spent the day hurling accusations at wealthier countries.

President Obama and other world leaders have said that the Copenhagen meetings are unlikely to produce a binding treaty; some sort of interim political agreement is far more likely, they said. But few appreciated the depth of anger in the developing world and the height of grandstanding that would consume so much of the conference’s time. Now it is hard to find someone who confidently predicts even that much success.

The Group of 77 is a group in name only. Made up of 130 countries, it represents tiny island nations like Vanuatu and advanced middle-income states like Argentina. Its nominal leader is Lumumba Stanislaus Di-Aping, a Sudanese diplomat who speaks on behalf of the group and who led a walkout on Monday, saying the developed nations’ offer of $10 billion in “quick-start” financing after completion of a deal here was wholly inadequate.

Many developing nations have united under the group’s auspices of because there is strength in numbers, and because they can take advantage of the far greater negotiating power and resources of countries like China and Brazil. Many small countries have neither a big enough delegation nor the organizational structure to negotiate effectively on their own.
[New York Times]