UK positive but others more cautious about Obama’s climate talks
Peta Hodge
29th April 2009
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has described the meeting of the Major Economies Forum, which took place in Washington this week, as "positive" and "productive" though other participants are reported to be more cautious in their assessments.
The Major Economies Forum was initiated by President Obama to allow more informal and open discussion on climate change issues ahead of formal UN negotiations in Copenhagen in December. In advance of the meeting, some countries had expressed concern that the process would have the effect of undermining wider UN negotiations.
Speaking after the Forum’s first meeting, Ed Miliband said: “Whilst nobody doubts that there is a lot of hard work still to do, we've seen a real commitment from every country to getting a global agreement in December at Copenhagen. There is broad agreement now that we have to base our response to climate change on the science, and I think this will drive us towards greater ambition.
"There was a positive spirit at today's meeting, a sense of American engagement, and a sense that this is achievable despite the huge challenges we face. All countries need to move off the high emissions path, and I believe we are starting to lay the groundwork for that move," he said.
Reuters reports say other delegates also praised the new constructive atmosphere under President Obama and Washington's shift on climate policy.
UN climate chief Yvo de Boer, who described the US as "largely absent" from the climate debate during the Bush years, said: "I saw none of the acrimony that I've seen in previous meetings of this kind. I saw a good understanding and sympathy for each other's positions but also the recognition that there is a huge challenge ahead of us."
But others are more skeptical. Reuters quotes Carroll Muffett of environmental group Greenpeace as saying: "Unfortunately, while the last two days brought soaring and inspiring rhetoric, reflecting the profound sea change in US climate policy, it brought little in the way of real progress."
Similarly, German Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel, is quoted as saying a lot has changed since the Bush administration, but that greater commitments from industrialised nations, including the US, would be necessary to succeed in Copenhagen. "Measured by what Europeans believe needs to be done to fight climate change, we're still very far apart from each other," he said.
The Major Economies Forum – made up of the US, Canada, Japan, Russian, EU (Commission and Presidency), UK, France, Germany, Italy, Denmark (this year only), Australia, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, China, India, South Korea, Indonesia – is due to meet again in May in Paris and again June at a location to be decided. The process is set culminate with a meeting of heads of state and government on the sidelines of the July G8 summit in Italy, although it could continue after that.
The US position in international talks is strongly linked to the fate of a climate change bill now moving through Congress. Reuters reports Todd Stern, the US special envoy for climate change, as commenting that any pact in Copenhagen would have to be palatable to US lawmakers. It also says that EU officials, who emphasised Europe's leadership on the climate change issue, expressed the hope that US negotiators would have a clear mandate at the December talks.