asianews

The Bangkok Climate-Change talks were headed for failure as poor nations and activists slammed what they said was the unexpected US "attempt to kill the Kyoto Protocol's content".

"If this trend continues today, we are likely to get nothing substantial from the Bangkok climate negotiations," said a reliable source.

The stance of the United States and other developed countries at the talks was the most widely discussed topic among negotiators attending the ongoing two-week meeting, which will end today.

A source said the US and developed countries have been trying to push a new proposal, which would enable them to no longer shoulder the burden of reducing greenhouse gas emissions which effecting the economic growth.

They had asked delegates attending the meeting to change the text under the Kyoto Protocol from equity to equality in sharing responsibility for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

They proposed their ideas during meetings of the ad hoc working group on Long-term Cooperative Action under the Convention.

"We were worried that this would lead us to disaster. They are trying to suggest a new draft for negotiations instead of using the existing draft under the Kyoto Protocol," a source said. "It was like trying to bring the table down."

Kingkorn Narindhornkul, the coordinator of the Thai Working Group for Climate Justice, said the US is the real bad guy who was trying to kill the world's attempt to resolve the global-warming issue.

Lidy Nacpil, coordinator of Jubilee South - Asia Pacific, called on Americans to pressure the US government to change its approach towards the negotiations on climate change.

On the same day, negotiators from developing countries, including the Group of 77 and China, proposed the creation of a financial agency under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to manage funds for adaptation and mitigation from the adverse effects of global warming.

Their proposal was opposed by developed countries, who said there was no need to set up a new financial institute as such an agency exists under international organisations such World Bank and Asian Development Bank.

"The new financial institute under the structure of UNFCCC would help us to secure funding management for adaptation and mitigation for developing countries," South Centre's executive director, Martin Khor, said yesterday at a press conference.

The financial support mainly would come from governments, and carbon-credit trading as the complementary fund.

However, the carbon credit should not be the main mechanism to lead the direction of the source of funding under the UNFCCC's financial institution for adaptation and mitigation.

A group of developing countries is also asking developed countries to exempt clean technology from intellectual property rights so that developing countries could use such technology to cope with the adverse effects of climate change.

But developed countries said intellectual property rights are the source and inspiration for creating new clean technology.

Khor said many parties are talking about holding a special convention, which would drag the United States to join the rest of the world's attempts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

This special convention will not require the US to come up with the precise reduction rate but it would ask the US to issue a strong commitment to reduce emissions.

At least the US should have a number for emission reduction to compare its attempt with those of other developed countries. Meanwhile, China and India unconditionally agreed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

UNFCCC executive director Yvo de Boer told a press conference that developing countries are dissatisfied with the financial architecture that the meetings have in place at this moment.