MINISTER FOR the Environment John Gormley lambasted the United States yesterday for what he portrayed as its minimalist approach to the climate change negotiations in Copenhagen.
Mr Gormley was challenging the perception that the European Union was causing problems by opposing a continuation of legally binding agreements in the Kyoto protocol for a second period beginning in 2013.
The basis for the EU’s opposition is that Kyoto covers only one-quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions, and that a number of bigger polluters, including the US and China, are not covered by it.
“It’s very unfortunate that Europe is seen as causing the problem. The people who are getting away are the United States [negotiators] who have frankly contributed very little to the process. I am sick of it,” he said.
He said the EU needed to keep pushing for its “red line issues”. Without that, there was no hope of getting a comprehensive, meaningful agreement.
“I am not hugely optimistic,” said the Minister.
“My optimism around getting a meaningful deal at this stage is waning. I hope that if we put our backbone into it, we can get resolution,” he said.
Taoiseach Brian Cowen will arrive in Copenhagen today to be one of 120 heads of state and government attending the summit.
Speaking last night, Mr Cowen said that “global problems, like climate change, require global responses”.
Echoing the sentiments of Mr Gormley, he pointed out that the US and China, which together produce half of global emissions, were not parties to Kyoto. He added that a new agreement, to which all key nations were party, was essential.
A number of Irish parliamentarians at the conference expressed criticism of the lack of organisation that led to long queues in sub-zero temperatures, overcrowding and protests.
“It has been terribly disappointing,” said Fine Gael’s spokesman on energy Simon Coveney. “A total of 45,000 people registered, yet only 15,000 can fit into the hall.”
The really disappointing aspect, however, was that as of last night, the political negotiations had not begun in earnest, with less than 48 hours remaining, he said.
Liz McManus said she found it extraordinary that more preparations were not done beforehand.
“If all that comes out is a wishy-washy deal then it will be harder to deal with a problem that will become bigger,” she said.
The Green Party TD Ciaran Cuffe was more upbeat. He said that in the event of no sign-off in Copenhagen, the “enormous momentum among delegates” would continue to the Mexico summit late next year.