Still no deal as UN climate talks go into extra time

agence france-presse
Posted on 12/08/2012 1:16 PM  | Updated 12/08/2012 1:23 PM

TOUGH TALKS. Delegates continue negotiating in Doha. Photo from UN MultimediaTOUGH TALKS. Delegates continue negotiating in Doha. Photo from UN Multimedia

(UPDATED) DOHA, Qatar - UN climate talks in Doha have yet to produce a deal the day after their scheduled close, with negotiators locked in a stand-off about financing, a delegate told AFP on Saturday, December 8.

"We do not expect a deal for at least several more hours," said the official closely involved in the talks as a new day dawned on the summit that saw haggling continue throughout the night.

Negotiators in Doha must extend the greenhouse gas-curbing Kyoto Protocol as an interim measure to rein in climate change and smooth the way to a new, global pact due to take effect in 2020.

But the issue of funding to help poor countries deal with the fallout from global warming and convert to planet-friendlier energy sources has hamstrung the haggling by envoys from nearly 200 countries gathered in the Qatari capital.

Developed countries are being pressed to show how they intend to keep a promise to raise climate funding for poorer nations to $100 billion (76 billion euros) per year by 2020 -- up from a total of $30 billion in 2010-2012.

Developing countries say they need at least another $60 billion between now and 2015 -- starting with $20 billion from next year -- to deal with a climate change-induced rise in droughts, floods, rising sea levels and storms.

But the United States and European Union have refused to put concrete figures on the table for 2013-2020, citing the tough financial times.

There was also deadlock on a separate demand by least developed countries and those most at risk of sea level rise that provision be made for the losses they suffer because of climate change -- a phenomenon they blame on the West's polluting ways since the industrial era. - Agence France-Presse

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