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Copenhagen summit: Tuvalu holds up talks, proposal hangs fire |
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/et-cetera/Copenhagen-summit-Tuvalu-holds-up-talks-proposal-hangs-fire/articleshow/5324927.cms
COPENHAGEN: For the second day in a row, the small island state of Tuvalu held up proceedings at the Conference of Parties—the full gathering of countries.
But hopes that Tuvalu’s demand for a full discussion on a proposal for a two-track protocol will be met seem to be fading. The proposal was rejected by conference president Connie Hedegaard following objections from other nations.
But the issue of a full discussion of the demand—one track for the existing Kyoto Protocol and another for the track emerging out of the Bali Action Plan—still hangs in balance.
“The Danish presidency will let us know what will happen,” a negotiator said. India, along with China and Saudi Arabia, has opposed a full discussion, preferring instead an informal group.
“We have made it clear that we are sympathetic to their views. However, at this point, we must not be distracted from the task at hand that is ensuring commitments on emissions from developed countries,” an Indian negotiator said.
For its part, Tuvalu made it clear that it had not sought a cancellation of the Kyoto Protocol. Instead, it called for another protocol that would ensure a legal outcome for the parallel tract, the ad hoc working group on long term co-operation emerging out of the Bali Action Plan.
In Copenhagen , theories abound on why Tuvalu’s proposal has managed to take centre stage. “This is Plan B. After the Danish draft failed, the Tuvalu proposal is another way that the developed countries have found to ensure a less stringent agreement,” a negotiator from a developing country said.
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