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World is mine on Monday, December 14, 2009 4:15:25 PM
Developing nations have staged a two-hour walkout at the Copenhagen climate talks, accusing the developed world, led by the European Union, Australia and Japan, of pushing to "kill the Kyoto Protocol".
The walkout was organised by the G77 group, which represents 130 small, mostly African nations.
G77 chief Lumumba Di-Aping has accused the Danish president of the Copenhagen process, Connie Hedegaard, of siding with the United States and the rest of the developed world in trying to kill off Kyoto.
The Kyoto Protocol is the only legally-binding agreement the world has on climate change at the moment. It legally binds rich countries to cut their carbon emissions but does not compel developing countries to do the same.
"It has become clear that the Danish presidency, in the most undemocratic fashion, is advancing the interests of the developed countries at the expense of their balance of the obligations between developing and developed countries," Mr Di-Aping said.
Negotiating between two tracks
Ms Hedegaard says the small African nations should focus on the big picture and not get bogged down in the process.
"I'm trying to unite all kinds of different views here. ... But we are respecting the mandate, we are pursuing the two tracks," she said, referring to both sides of the negotiations.
Most of the 192 nations represented at the talks are not members of Kyoto; the only countries that are bound to cut emissions under the terms of Kyoto are the Annex 1 countries, which number about 37.
The developing world wants to extend the Kyoto deal rather than create a whole new framework, which they feel will represent a watering-down of commitments from the developed world.
The poor and smaller states say it is the developed world that wreaked climate havoc on the developing world.
Developing nations want rich countries to pay their climate debt in cash and also by reducing carbon emissions.
They fear the rich countries will attempt to draft a new treaty that will not place strict and legally binding commitments on the developed world to cut their emissions.
More than Kyoto extension
That is a big stumbling block in the negotiations in Copenhagen, because the United States has said in no uncertain terms that it will not, under any circumstances, sign up to Kyoto.
The US wants an entirely new agreement that signs all nations up to some form of action on climate change, rather than leaving all the heavy lifting to the rich world.
Australia is considered one of the bad guys by the small countries because while it is not saying it wants to get rid of Kyoto, it is saying an extension to Kyoto is not enough.
Federal Climate Change Minister Penny Wong says simply extending Kyoto will not deliver the outcomes the world needs to meet the challenges of climate change.
About 120 heads of state will be in Copenhagen for the summit's climax on Friday and it is looking increasingly possible that the final agreement out of Copenhagen might actually be several agreements.