"U.N. Climate Talks Grudgingly Accept Treaty Draft"

"BONN -- Rich and poor countries criticized a first draft text of a new United Nations climate treaty Monday but grudgingly accepted it as the basis for six months of arduous negotiations.

'We ... have some dismay about the way it has been structured,' Jonathan Pershing, head of the U.S. delegation at the June 1-12 talks among 180 nations in Bonn, said of a 53-page draft outlining ideas from all countries.

'This text should contain more balance,' said Ibrahim Mirghani Ibrahim of Sudan, speaking on behalf of 130 developing countries including China and India.

Despite finding fault, delegates accepted the draft as the starting point for negotiations on a treaty due to be agreed in Copenhagen in December to curb the use of fossil fuels and widen the fight against climate change beyond the existing Kyoto Protocol."

Alister Doyle reports for Reuters June 2, 2009.

See Also:

ClimateDraft Released (AFP)

"Rich Nations Promise $100 Billion Per Year Aid to Poor Nations in Climate Fight" (Reuters)

"World's Next Big Climate Pact Begins To Take Shape" (Christian Science Monitor)