이벤트

China laid blame on the U.S. for failing to live up to its promises with regards to cutting climate emissions and twisting U.N. principles to their own advantage. On the other side the U.S. spoke harshly of how China’s energy savings, which are voluntary and not bound by the Copenhagen accord, have yet to be confirmed by inspectors from outside of China.

These disagreements are essentially the same as those encountered during the Copenhagen talks; China is criticized for polluting too much and not owning up to it, while using the excuse that western countries have been polluting for a long time so now it’s their term. On the other hand the U.S. are accused of demanding big changes from China, while being unwilling to make moves themselves or offer any assistance.

The next round of talks are set to take place in Cancun, Mexico next month, yet there may still be hope for a breakthrough at that time. One of the key resolutions would be the agreement for rich nations to hand over $100 billion per year to developing nations to assist them in moving towards green businesses (as opposed to industries relying on fossil fuels) and deal with the effects of climate change.

While the U.S. ambassadors managed to remain restrained the Chinese delegates allegedly accused their American counter parts of being “preening pigs”, who criticized but did nothing themselves. The U.S. officials responded that they would not sign any agreement that did not also place the same restrictions on China. Nevertheless hopefully a deal will be brokered in Mexico and prove that talks are not dead.

If a deal cannot be reached there are fears that this could prove to be the undoing of the U.N. - after all, every year millions of dollars are spent transporting diplomats to exclusive locations and luxury accommodation on the understanding that their nations will be able to make deals that will benefit the world and the lives of people everywhere. If deals cannot be met then is the U.N. simply a waste of time and money, allowing diplomats to meet together and argue? Next month’s meeting in Mexico will provide the answer.