FRENCH STANCE:FRENCH PRESIDENT Nicolas Sarkozy appeared to dissent from the European Union position on a global climate change agreement yesterday when he said he favoured retention of the Kyoto Protocol after 2012.
In his address to delegates at the UN climate change conference, Mr Sarkozy signalled a willingness to bind France to new emissions targets. His comments were at variance with the EU view, seeking an all-encompassing deal that would result in all countries committing to reduce emissions.
Mr Sarkozy prefaced his comments by saying that “failure in Copenhagen would be a catastrophe for each and every one of us”. He added: “If we keep on heading where we’re going we are heading for failure.” He continued: “So people want to keep Kyoto; OK let’s keep Kyoto. But let us agree on an overall political umbrella.”
He also argued for a full legally binding treaty to be adopted within six months in Bonn, and not a year from now at the next UNFCCC convention in Mexico. “Let us give ourselves six months after the Copenhagen conference to transform political commitments into a legal text,” he said.
The EU’s position has been that there is a need for a new agreement to replace or supersede the Kyoto Protocol on the basis that it does not cover all developed countries, the US in particular, and makes no demands for emissions cuts from any developing nations, including China and India.
Developing nations, including the G77 bloc and the African Group, have argued that Kyoto should remain in place. The issue has caused much division between developed and developing nations.