COP17: Key Report Harshly Criticized

Durban, South Africa, Dec 5. -Developing countries rejected on Monday one of the draft reports of the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) for considering it favors industrialized nations.

The Group of 77 plus China criticized the report of the Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action given that it includes much flexibility for rich countries and establishes greater regulation and monitoring mechanisms for under-developed countries.

The stance of the bloc was presented by Argentina, backed by several nations including Bolivia.

According to the delegate of this country, the text lacks an enforcement system in matters of mitigation of Greenhouse effects for the countries that will not join the second period of the Kyoto Protocol as the United States, Canada, Australia and Japan.

However Australia´s representative to the Conference believed that the document represents a good basis for a future negotiation.

The European Union also agreed with the report describing it as a balanced package of methodological and technological actions but insisted on its proposal of drafting a legal instrument in matters of mitigation by 2015.

Emergent nations such as China, India, South Africa and Brazil would be included in this new instrument that would replace the Kyoto Protocol.

On Wednesday, another plenary will take place to analyze a new draft of the Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action, when there are only two days left for the Durban Conference to end. (Prensa Latina)