Environment ministers agreed yesterday to a road map to extend the Kyoto Protocol climate pact beyond 2012, breaking two weeks of deadlock at UN talks aimed at curbing global warming.
Minutes after passing the Kyoto resolution, ministers also agreed to launch new, open-ended world talks on ways to combat global warming, overcoming objections by the US, which had resisted taking part in broader discussions.
The Montreal meeting had dragged on till nearly dawn yesterday, in part delayed by last-minute Russian objections.
"This has been one of the most productive UN climate change conferences ever. This plan sets the course for future action on climate change," said Richard Kinley, acting head of the UN Climate Change Secretariat.
Environment activists cheered, hugged and some even cried after the delegates passed what they saw as historic decisions tackling climate change.
"There were many potential points at this meeting when the world could have given up due to the tactics of the Bush administration and others but it did not," said Jennifer Morgan, climate change expert at WWF.
"And we must count on this resolve moving forward to bring the much deeper cuts in emissions in order to avoid the very devastating impacts of climate change," Morgan said.
The Montreal talks followed a twin track, one pursuing talks to advance Kyoto and the other under the broader UN Framework Convention on Climate Convention, Kyoto's parent treaty.
The US, the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, and Australia have refused to ratify Kyoto but are members of the parent treaty. Washington had initially refused to support a broader dialogue, fearing it might lead to binding commitments.
Washington accepted only a watered-down proposal to enter an exploratory global "dialogue" on future steps to combat climate change. That proposal specifically rules out "negotiations leading to new commitments."
``It's clear the Bush administration isn't willing to accept its responsibility,'' climate expert Bill Hare of Greenpeace International said of the continued US rejection of global negotiations and emissions controls.
US delegation chief Paula Dobriansky said earlier in the week that the Americans ``believe firmly that negotiations will not reap progress, as indicated, because there are differing perspectives.''
In days of tough negotiation, the Kyoto nations settled on a plan whereby a working group would begin developing post-2012 proposals. The agreement set no deadline for completing that work, except to say it should be done early enough to ensure that no gap develops after 2012.
That would guarantee an uninterrupted future for the burgeoning international ``carbon market,'' in which carbon reductions achieved by one company can be sold to another to help it meet its target.
With the talks over, a huge sigh of relief swept through the vast conference hall after a 20-hour session that left delegates exhausted and a little emotional.
"We are delighted," said Margaret Beckett, Environment Secretary for Britain, currently holding the rotating EU presidency. "It's the fruit of a year's work for us."
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS