Copenhagen climate deal looks doubtful
Updated on 06 November 2009
Talks in Barcelona suggest efforts to cut harmful emissions as well as raise hard cash for developing countries could be delayed by up to a year.
All hot air and no substance?
It now looks like there is only a slim chance of any binding deal at the UN climate change summit in Copenhagen next month.
That is the gereral vibe from talks in Barcelona which suggest a global treaty to tackle global warming could be delayed by up to a year.
At issue, not just a pledge to cut harmful emssions, but also hard cash to help the poorest countries.
Funding for any potential deal was also on the agenda in Scotland, where G20 finance ministers have been meeting.
Economics correspondent Faisal Islam writes: "The Chancellor has forced climate finance to the top of the agenda at breakfast tomorrow. The UK/EU plan is for finance worth $100bn per year from 2020, half of which will be raised from the private sector through carbon market mechanisms.
"The controversial bit is the other half. Which governments should pay for carbon abatement, mitigation, and percolation of green technologies to fast-growing economies so that they may prosper and grow using the least carbon possible?
"The existing developed countries, AKA ‘the North’, AKA ‘the rich’, are responsible for 75 per cent of historic carbon emissions on this planet.
"They are by far the cause of the current climate change challenge.
"However, as the Chancellor will point out in a speech tonight, 90 per cent of future emissions will come from the emerging and developing countries, such as Brazil, Russia, India and China. The EU plan calls for some sharing of the burden of this 50 billion per year between historic and future polluters.
"But here at St Andrews the Chinese in particular are saying No."
