On Monday, another round of international climate negotiations opens in Durban, South Africa. Expectations are low. Few expect the United Nations summit will overcome the solidified deadlock that has lasted for more than 10 years. Time is fast running out for the Kyoto Protocol, which expires at the end of 2012.
At the Copenhagen climate summit in 2009, Western nations promised $30billion between 2010 and 2012 – and $100-billion a year by 2020 – to help poor countries adapt to climate change. But this pledge by developed nations is conditional on China, India and other emerging nations signing up to an international agreement, something that is not going to happen any time soon.
In any case, the Obama administration – struggling with an astronomical debt burden and economic sluggishness – is refusing to sign up to any significant wealth transfer (a.k.a. climate funding) to its up-and-coming competitors in the emerging and developing world.
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Afternoon Updates:
12:05 pm EST, November 27th, 2011 — UN Extreme Weather Report Triggers Storm of Protest
12:08 pm EST, November 27th, 2011 — Climategate 2.0: Lawson squishes Huhne