MARRAKECH,
Morocco--As the strength of the Bonn
accord risks being seriously undermined
by the current negotiations, European
Environment Ministers will meet Tuesday
for urgent talks in Marrakech.
Ministers
are due to meet formally on Wednesday for "high
level" negotiations to give a nod to the Kyoto
Protocol, whose ratification has proved a delicate
task.
With the coming of Ministers to the Conference,
a new rule book is expected to be opened on Kyoto.
But proposals from the Japanese, Australia,
Canada and Russian delegates threaten to weaken
the agreement that governments signed in Bonn,
according to analysts here.
The Canadian Environment Minister David Anderson
stated over the weekend that the treaty does
not need legally binding consequences, clearly
undermining the desire for a lobust enforcement
regime, demostrated in Bonn last July.
Friends of the Earth International Climate Campaigner
Kate Hampton said without strong enforcement
system, the Kyoto Protocol will not be worth
the paper it is written on.
"EU ministers must be clear that the text
on the table now is not what they intended to
do in Bonn. The agreement has been watered down
enough already", he said.
And the climate corporate agenda has been exposed
at the ongoing talks in Marrakech.
Some environmental groups are not happy with
the proceedings. They allege that instead of
addressing real issues and closing the gap between
rich and poor countries, the Kyoto Protocol on
climate change is being over-taken by false promises.
In a joint press briefing here, a Climate Coalition
of environmental groups fighting for environmental
rights and equality, exposed the agenda of corporate
organizations.
This is four days after the World Bank already
promised a staggering US$135 million Prototype
Carbon Fund ( PFC), for developing countries
to adapt to climate impacts.
"By succumbing to the corporate agenda,
the Kyoto Protocol is failing to achieve climate
justice", said Amit Srivasta of Corp Watch.
The climate group says instead of addressing
the causes of global warming and the inequalities
between north and south, developed nations have
now taken over the Kyoto Process.
Yin Shao Loong
of the Third World Network said : "They
are spearheaded by Canada, Japan, Russia and
Australia. They have set their delegations
the task of paving way for business interests
to seize a brand new market, in the name of greenhouse
gas emissions trading."
Green Peace alleged that the UN Climate Convention's
spirit of environmental integrity and common
sense has already been diluted.
In a bid to show and convince the public that
the Kyoto Protocol on the fight for the reduction
of greenhouse gas emissions can work, the World
Bank launched the fund in Marrakech.
The project, targeting Uganda, Chile and Latvia,
are aimed at alleviating the crippling effects
of climate change on poorer countries.
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