Saturday 20 December 2008

UN chief downbeat about deal

Canberra Times
Thursday 11/12/2008 Page: 12

The UN's climate chief sounded caution yesterday over hopes that a new treaty to tackle global warming would be fully wrapped up by the end of 2009. The executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, Yvo de Boer, said it was possible only "the key political issues" would be nailed down by this deadline and further talks needed to complete the details of the accord. "We won't see a fully elaborated, long-term agreement in Copenhagen in 2009. It won't be feasible," Mr de Boer said.

More than 10,000 delegates have gathered in Poznan, Poland, for the UN meeting, which aims to advance towards a treaty taking effect from the end of 2012, when provisions expire under Kyoto Protocol. Australia's Climate Change Minister Penny Wong arrived in Poznan this week to take part in the talks.

According to the "Bali road map", endorsed by the 192-member UN framework conference in Indonesia last year, the new accord should be completed in Copenhagen in December 2009. "We should be careful not to reach too far and achieve nothing," Mr de Boer said ahead of a ministerial-level phase of the talks, scheduled to take place today and tomorrow.

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