Cancun Climate Talks: A Decent Step Forward

They seem to have gotten world negotiators back on track
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 11, 2010 1:20 PM CST
Cancun Climate Talks: A Decent Step Forward
The sun rises behind a chimney at Chandrapur, India, in this January 2010 file photo.   (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

The climate talks in Cancun are over, and the assessments seem to fall into the modest-but-better-than-expected range, mainly because they set the stage for future talks. Monsters and Critics has highlights here, including a goal by the nearly 200 participating nations to limit the rise in world temperatures to 2 degrees Celsius and the creation of a "Green Climate Fund" to help developing nations adapt.

  • Guardian: The deal restores "faith in the multilateral UN process but will not reduce temperatures as much as scientists say is needed, and it pushes many of the most important decisions to future negotiations."
  • AOL News: It gives "both developing and developed countries a bit of what they wanted, covering issues ranging from greenhouse gas emission cuts to rules for reducing deforestation."

  • New York Times: "The result was a major step forward for a process that has stumbled badly in recent years." It gives the nations "another year to decide whether to extend the frayed Kyoto Protocol, the 1997 agreement that requires most wealthy nations to trim their emissions while providing assistance to developing countries to pursue a cleaner energy future."
  • Telegraph: "A comprehensive global deal is now back on track. ... After two weeks of negotiating, rich and poor countries agreed a compromise that will see all countries committed to cutting emissions for the first time."
Click here to read about Bolivia's objection that the pact is not nearly strong enough.
(More global warming stories.)

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