Buenos Aires meeting ends - with little to celebrate 20 December 04

The UN climate change meeting (COP10) ended in Buenos Aires at the weekend after the customary marathon all-night cliffhanger – but with precious few rays of hope breaking through the gloom. The US government representatives surprised even green campaigners with their wanton destructiveness: America teamed up with oil-producer (and serial cutter-off-of-heads) Saudi Arabia to torpedo and undermine the efforts of more far-sighted nations time and time again during the negotiations. With the EU pushing for more action on climate this was surely the time to discuss what a post-Kyoto agreement might mean. Instead, next year will see an ‘informal seminar’ for ‘exchanging information’ rather than anything more concrete which might threaten established corporate interests or sacred cows like economic growth. The EU’s plan to discuss deeper post-Kyoto cuts was stymied by an unholy alliance of India, China, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan – who insisted on written guarantees that any meetings would not lead to them having to assume any greenhouse gas-cutting commitments. Right-wingers like Tech Central Station rubbed their hands in glee at this outcome, suggesting that the EU rather than America was now isolated, and that therefore Kyoto was “dead” (again). Meanwhile, a look at the latest figures shows that even those countries that support Kyoto are miles away from meeting their targets. Canada has seen emissions growth of 20%, despite committing to a 6% reduction by 2012. Japan is supposed to make the same reduction, but its emissions are up 12%. Even the EU has a long way to go. Oh well, at least the Russians have ratified. Can somebody pass the vodka?