WORLD Talks in Durban on climate change struggled yesterday to overcome a rift on the future of the Kyoto Protocol, with less than three days left to secure a deal.
Canada bluntly declared that, for it, Kyoto was now history.
It confirmed it would not renew pledges after the landmark pact's first roster of carbon curbs expired at the end of 2012.
"We have long said we will not take on a second commitment under the Kyoto Protocol. We will not obstruct or discourage those that do, but Kyoto for Canada is in the past," said Canadian Environment Minister Peter Kent. Kent's slap-down of a treaty viewed as iconic by poorer countries hit the nerve-point of the talks, which have until late on Friday to avoid the second bust-up in two years.
The conference is taking place under the 194-nation UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, which has struggled for nearly two decades to roll back what scientists say is a dire threat to humankind.
Several key nations besides Canada, including Japan and Russia, have said they will not renew their Kyoto vows, which are legally binding.
They say a second commitment period is senseless so long as emerging giants and the US, which has refused to ratify Kyoto, are not bound by the treaty's constraints.
"For Canada, the Kyoto Protocol is not where the solution lies," Kent said.
"It is an agreement that covers fewer than 30% of global emissions, by some estimates 15% or less. It's an approach that does not lead to a more comprehensive engagement of key parties who need to be actively a part of a global agreement."
So far, however, only the European Union, which accounts for barely 11% of global CO2 emissions, has shown any enthusiasm for renewing its Kyoto vows.
And even then there is a condition: all the world's major emitters - including the US and China - must agree in principle to conclude a binding climate pact by 2015 and implement it by 2020.
But none of the big polluters has supported Europe's "road map" idea.
The US, for its part, is calling for countries to implement a looser, voluntary approach that was born in the stormy final hours of the 2009 Copenhagen Summit.
For developing countries, Kyoto is a touchstone of cooperation between rich and poor, and UN general secretary Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday pleaded with the talks to keep the treaty alive.
"While Kyoto alone will not solve today's climate problems, it is a foundation to build on with important institutions. It provides the framework that markets sorely need. It is important that we do not create a vacuum," Ban said.
Brazil, South Africa, India and China have described a second commitment period as "a must", a position loudly supported yesterday by the poorest countries and vulnerable small-island states.
South Africa, as host, gathered a group of countries into an indaba, out of which four options emerged for tackling carbon emissions in the medium and longer-term.
Despite the row over Kyoto, other issues have made progress or have a good chance of doing so, delegates said.
They include the design of a Green Climate Fund that by 2020 would channel up to $100-billion a year to help poor countries tackle worsening floods, drought, rising seas and storms. - Sapa-AFP
Rift on Kyoto Protocol threatens climate talks
WORLD Talks in Durban on climate change struggled yesterday to overcome a rift on the future of the Kyoto Protocol, with less than three days left to secure a deal.
Canada bluntly declared that, for it, Kyoto was now history.
It confirmed it would not renew pledges after the landmark pact's first roster of carbon curbs expired at the end of 2012.
"We have long said we will not take on a second commitment under the Kyoto Protocol. We will not obstruct or discourage those that do, but Kyoto for Canada is in the past," said Canadian Environment Minister Peter Kent. Kent's slap-down of a treaty viewed as iconic by poorer countries hit the nerve-point of the talks, which have until late on Friday to avoid the second bust-up in two years.
The conference is taking place under the 194-nation UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, which has struggled for nearly two decades to roll back what scientists say is a dire threat to humankind.
Several key nations besides Canada, including Japan and Russia, have said they will not renew their Kyoto vows, which are legally binding.
They say a second commitment period is senseless so long as emerging giants and the US, which has refused to ratify Kyoto, are not bound by the treaty's constraints.
"For Canada, the Kyoto Protocol is not where the solution lies," Kent said.
"It is an agreement that covers fewer than 30% of global emissions, by some estimates 15% or less. It's an approach that does not lead to a more comprehensive engagement of key parties who need to be actively a part of a global agreement."
So far, however, only the European Union, which accounts for barely 11% of global CO2 emissions, has shown any enthusiasm for renewing its Kyoto vows.
And even then there is a condition: all the world's major emitters - including the US and China - must agree in principle to conclude a binding climate pact by 2015 and implement it by 2020.
But none of the big polluters has supported Europe's "road map" idea.
The US, for its part, is calling for countries to implement a looser, voluntary approach that was born in the stormy final hours of the 2009 Copenhagen Summit.
For developing countries, Kyoto is a touchstone of cooperation between rich and poor, and UN general secretary Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday pleaded with the talks to keep the treaty alive.
"While Kyoto alone will not solve today's climate problems, it is a foundation to build on with important institutions. It provides the framework that markets sorely need. It is important that we do not create a vacuum," Ban said.
Brazil, South Africa, India and China have described a second commitment period as "a must", a position loudly supported yesterday by the poorest countries and vulnerable small-island states.
South Africa, as host, gathered a group of countries into an indaba, out of which four options emerged for tackling carbon emissions in the medium and longer-term.
Despite the row over Kyoto, other issues have made progress or have a good chance of doing so, delegates said.
They include the design of a Green Climate Fund that by 2020 would channel up to $100-billion a year to help poor countries tackle worsening floods, drought, rising seas and storms. - Sapa-AFP
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