Bonn: Developing nations call on EU to save Kyoto

The latest round of international climate change negotiations will close in Bonn today with diplomats insisting that meaningful progress is continuing to be made on a number of fronts, despite the continued deadlock over the future of the Kyoto Protocol.

Insiders suggested that the two weeks of talks had seen encouraging progress on a range of technical issues, such as the measurement, reporting and verification of national emissions, forest protection, carbon markets and the formation of a $100bn a year Green Fund to support adaptation and emission reduction efforts in developing countries.

The progress raises the prospect of ministers agreeing a package of measures at the main UN summit in Durban at the end of the year, including new guidelines and rules that would enable more accurate emissions reporting and allow for the launch of forest credits and operationalise the proposed Green Fund.

There were also indications that countries had again discussed their emission reduction pledges and explored measures to close the so-called Gigatonne Gap between current carbon targets and the cuts required to meet the stated target of limiting temperature rises to two degrees.

However, any optimism emanating from the talks was overshadowed by the continued deadlock over the future of the Kyoto Protocol.

The head of the Japanese delegation told reporters yesterday that any suggestions that the country was softening its opposition to signing up to a second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol were entirely false.

"It is not true," said Akira Yamada. "We would like to deny such disinformation."

Meanwhile, reports suggested that developing countries are pleading with the EU to endorse the second commitment period of Kyoto in an increasingly frantic attempt to stop the collapse of the long-running negotiating process.

Russia and Canada have joined Japan in refusing to sign up to an extension of Kyoto, and to date only Norway and Sweden are on record as supporting a second commitment period.

In contrast, the EU is continuing to promise that it will sign up to an extended version of Kyoto, but only if a number of reforms of the Protocol are undertaken and all large emitters agree to some form of binding carbon targets.

Developing nations hope that if the EU does sign up to a reformed Kyoto it will allow the treaty to continue post-2012 and could encourage other nations such as Australia and New Zealand to sign up. It would also crank up pressure on Japan, Russia, Canada and the US to sign up to binding emission targets.

The row over the "legal form" of any agreement is now widely regarded as the biggest barrier to a treaty being finalised, and diplomats are increasingly resigned to the fact that a compromise will not be reached this year, raising the prospect of a regulatory gap when the first Kyoto Commitment period ends at the end of next year.

There was also continued uncertainty as to whether an additional round of talks will be scheduled for September ahead of the Durban Summit. Some nations have called for another week of talks in order to continue progress on the negotiating texts. However, others have argued that the Bonn talks need to deliver more meaningful progress if an additional meeting is to be worthwhile.

In related news, the Stockholm Environment Institute released a report which argued that developing countries have agreed to deeper emissions cuts than their industrialised counterparts.

"While this report concludes that developed country pledges are not high enough, it does not conversely imply that developing country pledges are too high," said report authors Dr Sivan Kartha and Pete Erickson.

"With appropriate international technological co-operation and financial support, developing countries could also fulfil higher levels of ambition, consistent with keeping warming below 2°C or 1.5°C."