Special Report: Fight against Global Warming
BALI, Indonesia, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- A top EU
environmental official said on Thursday in Bali, Indonesia, that the European
Union will boycott the U.S.-led climate talks in Hawaii in January without
substantive progress at this U.N. climate meeting in Bali.
"No result in Bali means no Major Economies Meeting,"
said Sigmar Gabriel, top EU environment official from Germany.
He was referring to a series of separate climate
talks initiated by U.S. President George W. Bush in September.
"This is the clear position of the EU. I do not know
what we should talk about if there is no target," said Gabriel, who is German
Environment Minister.
The EU and the U.S. remained deadlocked over a key
part of the text in the United Nations climate declaration as the two-week U.N.
climate change conference, is due to end on Friday.
The climate meeting is tasked with drawing up a
roadmap for launching negotiations on a new climate deal before the Kyoto
Protocol expires in 2012, which binds 36 industrialized countries to cut
emissions by an average 5 percent below the 1990 level between 2008 and 2012.
The United States, Japan and several other
governments refuse to accept language in a draft document suggesting that
industrialized nations consider cutting emissions by 25- 40 percent by 2020,
saying specific targets would limit the scope of future talks.
But the European Union favors the text. The U.N. says
it wants a mandate that sets up talks for a new climate deal beyond 2012.
Al Gore admits U.S. obstructing
climate talks in Bali
BALI, Indonesia, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- Former U.S. Vice
President Al Gore here on Thursday joined the voices for America to do more in
addressing climate change, saying "My country, the United States of America is
obstucting negotiations." Full story
U.N. bodies take lead in carbon neural
by offsetting emissions
BALI, Indonesia, Dec. 13 ( Xinhua) -- U.N. bodies
attending a crucial climate convention meeting in Bali, Indonesia, Thursday
announced that they are offsetting their greenhouse gas emissions linked with
travel to and from the two-week event. Full story
WWF calls for breaking deadlock at
Bali climate meeting
BALI, Indonesia, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- Hans Verolme,
Director of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)'s Global Climate Change
Program, on Thursday called on ministers attending the ongoing U.N. climate
conference in Bali, Indonesia, to break the deadlock and secure a "Bali Mandate
the world is crying out for." Full story
