U.S. Hails “Breakthrough” In Climate Talk

The announcement by the Obama Administration that the United States would contribute towards the $100 billion a year fund to 2020, to help developing countries deal with climate change control, raised hope

[Global: Europe]

So is the devil in the details?

The United States is hailing the 2009 Climate Change Control summit which
concluded yesterday as a breakthrough, pointing at its support of the $100
billion per year fund to curb emissions and deforestation and to compensate
developing countries for environmental degradation caused primarily by the
industrial countries.

China
also seemed to ease its rigid stance against emissions monitoring.

Thursday, many leaders already in Copenhagen had cast doubt over the success
of the summit especially when poorer countries blamed the developed world for
not doing enough about green gas emissions that their industrialized nations
are largely to blame for. Many leaders were not even sure until yesterday
whether President Obama had planned to come.

The announcement by the Obama Administration that the United States would
contribute towards the $100 billion a year fund to 2020, to help developing
countries deal with climate change control, raised hope that perhaps the doubting
Thomases in poorer countries would succumb to this carrot and engage with the First
World
in dealing with the problems of climate change.

Developing countries want the industrialized nations to foot most of the bill for
climate change controls blaming them for having caused the problem in the first place.
Observers were quick to point out that all this amount was not entirely US money.

They are keen to find our exactly how much the US, now only surpassed by China as the
world’s worst green gas emissions offender, is willing to put up to help the least
offenders, vis-a–vis climate change controls.

The Climate Summit is billed as the most important international conference in 50 years.
Ottmar Edenhofer, one of the world's leading climate scientists says it could be critical
in determining the future living conditions of our planet. For the last eight weeks,
French President Nicholas Sarkozy had been warning that failure to reach agreement Friday
was not only unthinkable but would it could be catastrophic not to reach one.

He told the summit Thursday: “If we keep on heading where we're going, we are heading
for failure. So people want to keep Kyoto, Okay let's keep Kyoto. But let us agree on
an overall political umbrella.”


Black Star Europe Editor Gombya can be reached via
[email protected]


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