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."
CREDIT-GRABBER: China said its coast guard rescued the crew of a fishing vessel that caught fire, who were actually rescued by a nearby Taiwanese boat and the CGA Maritime search and rescue operations do not have borders, and China should not use a shipwreck to infringe upon Taiwanese sovereignty, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. The coast guard made the statement in response to the China Coast Guard (CCG) saying it saved a Taiwanese fishing boat. The Chuan Yu No. 6 (全漁6號), a fishing vessel registered in Keelung, on Thursday caught fire and sank in waters northeast of Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台). The vessel left Keelung’s Badouzih Fishing Harbor (八斗子漁港) at 3:35pm on Sunday last week, with seven people on board — a 62-year-old Taiwanese captain surnamed Chang (張) and six
RISKY BUSINESS: The ‘incentives’ include initiatives that get suspended for no reason, creating uncertainty and resulting in considerable losses for Taiwanese, the MAC said China’s “incentives” failed to sway sentiment in Taiwan, as willingness to work in China hit a record low of 1.6 percent, a Ministry of Labor survey showed. The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) also reported that the number of Taiwanese workers in China has nearly halved from a peak of 430,000 in 2012 to an estimated 231,000 in 2024. That marked a new low in the proportion of Taiwanese going abroad to work. The ministry’s annual survey on “Labor Life and Employment Status” includes questions respondents’ willingness to seek employment overseas. Willingness to work in China has steadily declined from
The number of pet cats in Taiwan surpassed that of pet dogs for the first time last year, reaching 1,742,033, a 32.8 percent increase from 2023, the Ministry of Agriculture said yesterday, citing a survey. By contrast, the number of pet dogs declined slightly by 1.2 percent over the same period to 1,462,528, the ministry said. Despite the shift, households with dogs still slightly outnumber those with cats by 1.2 percent. However, while the number of households with multiple dogs has remained relatively stable, households keeping more than two cats have increased, contributing to the overall rise in the feline population. The trend
The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee yesterday approved proposed amendments to the Amusement Tax Act (娛樂稅法) that would abolish taxes on films, cultural activities and competitive sporting events, retaining the fee only for dance halls and golf courses. The proposed changes would set the maximum tax rate for dance halls and golf courses at 50 and 20 percent respectively, with local governments authorized to suspend the levies. Article 2 of the act says that “amusement tax shall be levied on tickets sold or fees charged by amusement places, facilities or activities” in six categories: “Cinema; professional singing, story-telling, dancing, circus, magic show, acrobatics
RSS