Climate change: USA and China, symbols of a north-south divide

As the preparations for next week's Copenhagen climate summit are winding down, it seems that a consensus on global efforts to combat climate change is still a long way off. The USA and China, at least, seem to be in completely opposite camps when it comes to climate change mitigation. China specialist and journalist Eric Meyer takes a closer look at this complicated issue.

What after 2012?

From 7 to 18 of December, 2009 global leaders will meet in Copenhagen for talks that will have far-reaching implications for our planet, which is now trying to cope with the effects of rising temperatures. Despite the urgency of the situation, the negotiations aimed at formulating a new climate deal to replace the Kyoto protocol are not expected to experience a smooth run. Standing firmly behind their own opinions, China and the US have come to represent two completely opposite camps: one is an advocate for developing countries, adamant about securing their future growth, while the other looks after the interests of rich nations, which consider the clearing up of the mess to be a common responsibility, to be shared equally amongst everyone.

This divide is not only visible on a global scale, but regionally as well, as the difficulties faced by the European Union in implementing a common climate strategy show. For this reason, pessimism reigns over optimism in expectations for the Copenhagen summit.

“A fully fledged new international treaty under the [UN Framework] Convention [on Climate Change] – I do not think that is going to happen. If you look at the limited amount of time remaining to Copenhagen, it’s clear.” UN climate negotiator Yvo de Boer, told the Financial Times.

The end of Kyoto?

The plan of action for the post-Kyoto Protocol era remains the principle stumbling block of the negotiations. The protocol, which has not been ratified by the US, will expire in 2012 and has proven to be quite constricting for the developed countries that have signed it, including EU member states and Japan.

The US has been pushing for a completely new approach to climate mitigation. (Image: Wikipedia)Rich countries, and the US in particular, have been advocating a completely new approach to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which developing countries like China and India consider unfair on account of their relatively small contribution to historical carbon emissions.

At the beginning of October, China's top climate negotiator Yu Qingtai accused rich nations of trying to sabotage the Kyoto protocol: ""We now hear statements that would lead to the termination of the protocol. They are introducing new rules, new formats. That's not the way to conduct negotiations," Yu said in a Guardian.co.uk report.

The Chinese official is adamant about sticking to the terms of the deal signed in 1997: "It's just like the final five minutes into a game and one side of the game putting forward a new set of rules, a new format, a new mandate and expect the other side to agree and make that as the precondition for making progress. That is not a fair way of conducting negotiations," Reuters quotes Yu as saying.

China-US consensus: an unlikely scenario?

For now, the situation seems to have reached a stalemate, which Eric Meyer confirms, saying the arguments put forth by both sides are “legitimate." However, the main problem is that the current situation is not sustainable in the long run.

This is something that, in theory, should push the different countries to make the utmost effort to find common ground. The White House recently reported of US President Barack Obama having had a telephone conversation to this effect with his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao: the outcome was a pledge to work together towards ensuring a successful result at the Copenhagen summit. Official state news agency Xinhua also reported on the same event, quoting the Chinese leader's remarks about “common interests and challenges.”

By: Nicolas Jucha