Danish draft, worthless and disruptive
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Days are numbered at Copenhagen, the clock is ticking, and the world is still waiting to be saved from the adverse effects of climate change. However, differences seem to outweigh consensus among developing and developed countries. And the Danish draft isn't helping.
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Protestors hold signs as they march towards the Bella Center, where the UN Climate Change 2009 Conference is taking place, during a demonstration in Copenhagen December 16, 2009. [Xinhua/Reuters Photo] |
During the morning discussions, without consulting the convening parties, the Danish presidency of the talks was hawking its draft texts, eliciting nothing but protests from representatives of the developing world.
"This is a party-driven process. You can't just put forward some texts from the sky ... it would very much endanger the successful outcome in Copenhagen," China's Chief Negotiator Su Wei said at the conference after an announcement by the Danish presidency on the draft texts.
Su is not alone, as his remarks are grounded in the support of Brazil, India, South Africa and other developing countries.
The world ought to recognize the commendable efforts on behalf of the host country for organizing the summit. Yet that doesn't give Denmark the right to enforce a final decision of so much gravity.
No one with common sense would interpret the Danish draft as a technical error or a layman's mistake.
For the talks to be successful, all nations should honor the integrity and transparency of the prearranged procedures to guarantee the interests of every party.
Actions by the host to erase current achievements or attempts to alter talk rules are extremely damaging.
Meanwhile, no matter what kind of conspiracies -- if any – are being fabricated, no country has the right to circumvent the principle of "common but differentiated responsibility" inscribed in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
"It has been agreed that the only legitimate basis for discussion on the outcome of the Copenhagen talks will be the outcome of the work by the two major working groups of the conference," Su pointed out.
The issue of climate change haunts all nations. Every country, in every region, should be included in an effective approach to undo the wrongs of mankind, and talks under the UN framework offer the greatest hope of finding a solution.
The divergence on emissions reductions as well as funds and technology transfers among the developed nations and the developing world is well known, and no substantial results can be realized if the developed countries don't take the opinions and concerns of the developing nations seriously.
Skyscrapers collapse, roads are torn apart and shore lands flooded... these are apocalyptic scenes in the movie "2012." If the Copenhagen talks are allowed to fail, these scenes just may become real.
The only possible way for mankind to survive the scourge of climate change is for all parties, developed or developing, to adhere to the principles of the Bali Roadmap, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol.
The world should join hands today so that future generations won't denounce the climate talks as worthless but instead regard them as turning over a new leaf in human history.
