Africa - Delegations to rejoin climate talks in Copenhagen

December 15th, 2009

 

 

Copenhagen (Denmark) - African nations said they would return to Copenhagen climate talks on Monday, allowing the negotiations to resume, after winning assurances that the conference put more focus on extending the existing Kyoto Protocol.

Earlier, African negotiators representing the continent in Copenhagen climate negotiations walked out from the ongoing deal, accusing rich nations of sidelining their minimum demands.

"We're going back," Pa Ousman Jarju from the delegation of Gambia, told Reuters. The protest held up the talks that had been due to start at 1030 GMT.

African negotiators' protest move followed fears that developed countries are planning to sabotage the process by abandoning the Kyoto protocol which binds the developed countries to certain levels of gas emissions.

The African countries feared that the developed countries are trying to collapse the Kyoto protocol and pursue other non-binding agreements.
African group move is backed by the leading negotiation group of 130 developing nations (G77+China).

African negotiators group chairman, Algerian Environment minister Djemouai Kamel had said on Monday there was no reason African leaders should attend the Copenhagen summit while Africa's demand is being ignored.

Africa demands Kyoto protocol to stay alive, which is the only available legally binding agreement adopted in 1997 in Japan.

“African group would not be tolerating the killing of Kyoto protocol with out having any new deal,” Kamel said.

The Kyoto protocol was adopted on December 11, 1997 in Kyoto, Japan and came into force on February 16, 2005. As at November 2009, 187 states have ratified the protocol.

The group refused to continue negotiations unless talks on a second commitment period to the treaty were given priority over broader discussions on a "long-term vision" for action on climate change.

Kamel urged United Nations to facilitate a special informal consultation session for Africa to unlock the negotiation, the most suffering from climate change impacts.

The African group underlined that Monday’s walkout did not aim to block the deal but to rescue Africa.

The ongoing climate negotiations in Copenhagen, Denmark is surrounded by nonstop protests inside and outside the conference hall.

More that 110 leaders including African head of states are expected to attend the conference on Wednesday.

 

source.The Nation (Kenya) - December 14, 2009.