U.S. groups to assess climate talk failures

November 28, 2000
Web posted at: 3:52 PM EST (2052 GMT)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- U.S.-based environmentalists plan to meet Tuesday for a review of what went wrong -- and possibly what went right -- at the failed international climate change talks in The Hague last week.

Negotiations ended in the Netherlands Friday without an agreement on how to implement the Kyoto Protocol. The 1997 framework treaty was crafted to cut major industrialized countries' greenhouse gas emissions, widely believed to contribute to global warming, by an average of 5.2 percent below 1990 levels by the period between 2008 and 2012.

Organizations which watched The Hague talks closely, like the National Environmental Trust, Natural Resources Defense Council and World Wildlife Fund, have scheduled the meeting to review the failure to cut an international deal on curbing the emissions blamed for global warming and subsequent extreme weather.

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The Global Climate Coalition, a group supported by business interests, has planned its own separate review of the talks.

The Hague failure was blamed on differences between the United States and the European Union on issues including how to implement an international trading system for carbon emission credits and how many credits countries would receive for maintaining forests and farmlands which absorb greenhouse gases.

The basic standoff swirls around European views that the United States is not willing to cut its domestic emissions without generous credits from markets or for its absorption areas.

One leading environmentalist lamented the lack of an agreement, claiming, with partisan flair, that a Republican White House might not be as friendly to cutting a deal.

"This is likely to have been Europe's best opportunity to achieve a strong climate treaty, and the EU decided to pass it up. After January, they could face a Bush administration almost certain to push for bigger loopholes," said Philip Clapp, president of the National Environmental Trust.

Scientists say greenhouse gas emissions will help to boost global temperatures by 1.5 to 6.0 degrees Celsius (2.7 to 10.8 degrees Fahrenheit) and cause sea levels to rise by 3.3 feet (1 meter) this century.

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
  • The Convention and the Kyoto Protocol
National Environmental Trust
Natural Resources Defense Council
WWF International
Global Climate Coalition
European Union

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