US stands alone as World reaches climate deal

MONTREAL—Industrialized and developing nations were close to a breakthrough on Friday on a deal to begin work on extending the Kyoto Protocol to fight global warming past 2012, but the United States resisted calls for new commitments to combat climate change. On the final day of the November 28-December 9 U.N. conference on climate change, environmentalists said they were losing hope that the United States — the largest producer of heat-trapping greenhouse gases — would sign a separate agreement for all nations, not just Kyoto members.
Although the United States is not one of the 157 countries that have subscribed to Kyoto, Canada wants a deal on open-ended talks among all countries about long-term cooperation on climate change. Delegates said US climate negotiator Harlan Watson walked out of a session of talks overnight, saying host Canada’s proposal for dialogue on long-term actions was tantamount to entering negotiations. “By walking out of the room, this shows just how willing the US administration is to walk away from a healthy planet and its responsibilities,” said Jennifer Morgan, climate change expert for environmental group WWF. Regardless of the US resistance, the countries participating in Kyoto will be announcing an agreement to launch negotiations next year for the second phase of the protocol.
This would give members seven years to negotiate and ratify accords by the time the first phase ends in 2012. President George W. Bush pulled out of Kyoto in 2001, arguing that mandatory cuts on emissions from fossil fuels would hamper growth and job creation. Washington prefers its own approach to stem global warming, mostly by investing heavily in technology. Many had hoped that the United States’ resistance would be broken by this year’s extreme weather events, particularly Hurricane Katrina’s destruction of New Orleans. Scientific evidence suggests global warming might be behind recent devastating weather patterns. Former US President Bill Clinton, who supported Kyoto but failed to convince US lawmakers, will enter the fray on Friday with an appearance on the sidelines of the conference. US head delegate Paula Dobriansky denied Clinton’s presence would be a problem for Washington.—Agencies