Battle lines re-drawn

The Kyoto Protocol was once again in focus at climate negotiations in Panama last week, indicating that a fight is brewing ahead of Durban's COP17 climate change talks. The Panama talks are the last round of official United Nations climate change negotiations ahead of COP17 at the end of November in Durban.

In Panama, old battle lines were redrawn when Japan, Russia, Canada and the United States insisted they would not sign up to a second commitment period for Kyoto when it expires at the end of next year.

But many developing countries that have rallied behind the Group of 77 and China insisted that Kyoto should not die.

The chairman of the least developed countries group, Pa Ousman Jarju of Gambia, stressed that poor countries needed the financial mechanisms embedded in Kyoto to help them cope with climate change. Meanwhile, the EU is discussing proposals that would extend Kyoto without dealing directly with the protocol in name, providing the financial mechanisms developing countries want.

Industrialised countries have pledged to provide $30bn of fast-start funding between 2011 and 2013 to support climate adaptation and emission-reduction projects in developing countries.

However, there have been consistent complaints from developing countries that not all the money has been awarded, and there has been absence of transparency over how the cash has been distributed.

Poorer nations are also increasingly concerned that there are no firm commitments on funding for post-2013 beyond a pledge delivered in Cancun to investigate providing up to £100bn a year in funding from 2020.

From such indications, it is clear that Durban will not make a big change!