Expectation proves elusive as UN climate talks convene
Baku, November 29 (AZERTAC). This year`s UN climate summit opens on Monday in Mexico, with expectations of significant progress generally low.
In contrast to last year`s summit in Copenhagen, there is a general belief that no new global deal will emerge.
The basic divisions are as stark as ever, and some nations and observers are arguing that smaller, less formal pacts are the way forward.
However, countries appear to want the UN process to survive, so major public disputes are unlikely.
Another contrast to Copenhagen is that very few heads of state or government are expected to attend.
The summit takes place against the backdrop of forecasts that carbon emissions are set to start rising again after a brief interlude from the recession, and analyses showing that countries` current pledges are not big enough to keep the global average temperature rise within bounds that most nations say they want.
On Friday, former UK deputy prime minister Lord Prescott - who led the UK delegation to the 1997 climate summit that agreed the Kyoto Protocol, and played a key role in negotiations there - called for governments to acknowledge that the UN process is failing.
"The legal framework is falling apart. Let us be practical, recognise that it has happened, and go for an alternative," he said.
"Each country is still trying to cut carbon emissions in its own way - the US has a programme, the EU has a programme, China has a programme.
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