Benny Peiser's Global Warming Policy Foundation

China and India Outsmart Green West
Change Of Wording Let’s Developing Nations Off The Hook Over CO2 Emissions

Loopholes in a UN agreement on climate change will allow China, India and other emerging economies to delay setting any targets to cut their overall emissions. European Union member states now face a dilemma over whether to continue with plans to make ambitious pledges next year to cut emissions by 2030 without any guarantee that countries with far larger carbon footprints will follow. --Ben Webster, The Times, 25 November 2013 (Subscription required)

Ravi Shankar Prasad, one of India’s lead negotiators, described the United Nations climate change conference as “a partial success” for keeping the pathway open for a global climate treaty to be finalized in 2015. Since India is still faced with the massive challenge of increasing development for poverty eradication, Mr. Prasad explained that only developed countries would have legally binding “commitments” as they were responsible for historical emissions. --Betwa Sharma, The New York Times, 25 November 2013

After almost 30 hours of overtime, the United Nations-sponsored Warsaw climate change talks came to a close with a deal that failed to resolve key contentious issues but managed to keep every country at the table. China and India, backed by a group of developing nations, stressed on the need for retaining the differentiation that exists. The matter was resolved over two huddles spanning nearly 30 hours of back and forth talks. For both set of countries this was a non-negotiable position. --Urmi A Goswami, The Economic Times of India, 24 November 2013

The rejection by the developing world to commit to legally binding emission targets is not a tactical negotiation ploy. The categorical NO is absolute and non-negotiable. Due to the evident lack of realistic energy substitutes, developing countries have no choice but to continue to rely on the cheapest form of energy, i.e. fossil fuels – for the foreseeable future. The developing nations are not stupid. They have ensnared the West in a climate trap that green politicians set for themselves. To meet the growing pressure by the West, developing countries are demanding $200-400 billion dollars – per annum – for so-called climate compensation and adaptation measures, together with billions worth of technology transfers. It is difficult to see how the West, already heavily curtailed as a result of the economic crisis, would be prepared to transfer such an astronomical amount of money. Even in good times it would have been a foolish idea. --Benny Peiser, Weltwoche, 20 December 2009

The UN Climate Conference in Warsaw is over. We are told that agreement was reached on a compromise. The countries agreed not to make commitments but instead that they would all make “contributions”. To make sure that agreement was reached these contributions are not legally binding. Moreover each nation is only required to specify its “contribution” by the first quarter of 2015 – if it feels able to. The method of measurement or monitoring the contribution is left to each nation! The agreement is that each nation may do as it pleases. --The k2p blog, 24 November 2013

The playbook [of UN climate summits] is as predictable as the futility of the Cubs. Weeks before the confabs begin in November, environmental groups and activist scientists gin up the usual “it’s even worse than we thought” meme. Soon the conference begins. Near the end of each conference there’s the requisite foot-stamping. This year, these countries and the myriad environmental groups “walked out” in protest over the lack of action (i.e. money). On the last scheduled day, (this year it was November 22), a vague draft “agreement” usually appears and news leaks of a “deadlock” between the developed and less-developed world. The attendees to stay overtime, usually overnight, and a breakthrough is announced. Then nothing happens until next year. --Patrick Michaels, Forbes, 24 November 2013