Governments pleased with "defining" climate deal
Governments hailed a deal on Saturday to start negotiations to adopt a new climate pact, but environmental groups said the agreement lacked teeth.
The deal binds the United States and China to greenhouse gas goals for the first time and a two-year agenda would lead to the adoption in Copenhagen in 2009 of a tougher, wider pact to succeed the Kyoto Protocol after 2012.
"This is the defining moment for me and my mandate as secretary-general," U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told Reuters after the meeting in a luxury Indonesian beach resort.
"All the 188 countries have recognised that this is the defining agenda for all humanity, for all planet Earth."
Environmental groups said the agreement lacked teeth after the European Union abandoned wording urging rich countries to step up the fight against climate change.
Weary delegates gave the United States an ovation after the world's top greenhouse gas emitter abruptly dropped last-minute opposition to an agreement after a sleepless night of talks which had passed their Friday deadline.
"We now have one of the broadest negotiating agendas ever on climate change," James Connaughton, chairman of the White House Council on environmental quality, said in Bali.
The United States had dropped opposition to Indian demands to soften developing nation commitments to a new pact. President George W. Bush in 2001 refused to sign the Kyoto Protocol saying it wrongly exempted developing nations.
CONSENSUS
The EU said it was satisfied with the deal, seeing as key the inclusion of Kyoto outsider, the United States.
- 1 Indias inflation rate rises marginally to 11.91 percent, prices seen stabilizing
- 2 Volkswagen launches Jetta in India, aims to raise sales with new models
- 3 No annexures, TDS or TCS certificates required for filing I-T returns: CBDT
- 4 BSE Sensex jumps 536 points to close above 13K as global crude oil prices, inflation seen moderating
- 5 Dark Knight sets box office record with $66.4M
- 6 Maytas Properties launches "walk to work" IT-ITeS SEZ in Hyderabad
- 7 Satyams FY09 Q1 net profit rises 45 percent on new orders, weaker rupee
- 1 Wipro's FY09 Q1 net profit rises 25 percent, cautious on outlook
- 2 UltraTech's net profit up 2 percent in FY09 Q1, warns of "surplus scenario" in future
- 3 Satyam's FY09 Q1 net profit rises 45 percent on new orders, weaker rupee
- 4 Biocon teams up with Abraxis BioScience, launches breast cancer drug Abraxane in India
- 5 Biocon's net profit drops 72 percent in Q1 of FY09 due to rupee volatility, absence of licensing income
- 6 No annexures, TDS or TCS certificates required for filing I-T returns: CBDT
- 7 Maytas Properties launches "walk to work" IT-ITeS SEZ in Hyderabad
|
|
|
