George Bush’s latest climate talks in Honolulu, Hawaii, have been described by delegates as the most frank and engaging climate negotiations so far.
Last year’s meeting in Washington was meeting was described by angry EU delegates as a waste of time, but the BBC reports that this time the tone was very different.
One EU delegate said: “I came expecting nothing and was very pleasantly surprised. Normally, we get sterile pre-prepared statements of policy, but this time there was a very frank discussion exploring the very difficult and different conditions facing each of the countries. It was very constructive.”
Brice Lalonde, the French climate ambassador, added: “It was very low-key but people just got on with it. The talks were very positive… until the final statement was discussed.”
At that point, he said, Russia and India refused to include a statement that they had been discussing mandatory, internationally binding commitments, even though that is exactly what had been discussed.
India feels that with per capita emissions a twentieth of the Americans, it is unfair to expect them to reduce emissions overall.
They have a point don’t they?