The U.S. view that no new global climate deal is possible before 2020 is derailing negotiations aimed at slashing the world’s oil and coal emissions, according to an envoy at the talks. “The present U.S. position of no new agreement until post- 2020 is really blowing negotiations apart,” Papua New Guinea’s chief climate delegate, Kevin Conrad, said in an interview in Durban, South Africa, where United Nations-led climate talks are divided over when to seek a new treaty to curb global warming. The U.S. won’t begin talks until China and India agree to take on legally binding actions without preconditions. In the meantime, countries should focus between now and 2020 on a voluntary emissions-cutting pact reached last year, according to U.S. lead climate negotiator Todd Stern. Other countries say it’s crucial to pursue a stronger agreement now. “We can’t wait for the U.S.,” Italian Environment Minister Corrado Clini said today in Durban. The European Union is pressing for a new treaty by 2015 and says it won’t move ahead with cuts under the Kyoto Protocol, the world’s only climate treaty, without a commitment from all nations to negotiate a new pact. The 27-nation bloc so far has shown no signs of softening its position during the two-week UN talks that end Dec. 9, leaving the future of Kyoto in doubt.
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