133 Developing Nations Walk Out of Climate Talks over Compensation

"The G77+China group of 133 countries walked out of negotiations on Loss and Damage at around 3:30 am on Wednesday morning after the rich countries refused to budge from the position that the subject should be discussed only after 2015."



"The U.S., Australia and Canada have been the most vocal and trenchant advocates against setting up a separate mechanism on Loss and Damage while the E.U., though not belligerent, has also played a part to make sure the mechanism does not materialise at the Warsaw meeting.

At a closed door meeting of representatives of various country blocks, called a ‘contact group on loss and damage’, the developed countries continued to demand that the issue be discussed only after 2015. While several parallel stream of negotiations are on at the moment, including that on finance for poor countries and the basic elements of the 2015 agreement, walk out of even one stream of parallel talks in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change threatens to bring to halt all negotiations.

'Everything clears together or nothing moves at all,' is how one G77 delegate put it to The Hindu."

Nitin Sethi reports for The Hindu November 20, 2013.

SEE ALSO:

"Fossil-Fuel Subsidies Outstrip Climate Aid Fivefold" (Bloomberg)

"Poor Countries Clamoring for Aid Slam Into 'Hard Reality' in Warsaw" (Greenwire)

"Climate Finance Battle Shows Expectation Gap at UN Talks" (Bloomberg)

"U.K. Wind Gets Less Aid Than Coal, Gas for Regulating Supply" (Bloomberg)

"'Loss And Damage' Re-Opens Old Wounds at Climate Talks" (BBC News)

"Want A Climate Deal? Rich Nations Will Have To Pay Up To Help Poor Ones" (Grist)

Source: The Hindu, 11/20/2013