Posted on 12/23/2009 12:40:29 AM PST by myknowledge
A writer and environmental activist who was present at the final Copenhagen climate talks says China sabotaged the deal and ensured Barack Obama would shoulder the blame.
While China's Premier Wen Jiabao insisted his government had played an "important and constructive" role, the talks in the Danish capital ended with a political accord rather than a binding agreement.
Mark Lynas, who was attached to the Maldives delegation, described what he saw at the talks as "profoundly shocking".
"I am certain that had the Chinese not been in the room, we would have left Copenhagen with a deal that had environmentalists popping champagne corks in every corner of the world," he wrote in the The Guardian.
"The truth is this: China wrecked the talks, intentionally humiliated Barack Obama, and insisted on an awful 'deal' so Western leaders would walk away carrying the blame.
He says Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and other Western leaders were visibly upset when China started "removing all the numbers that mattered" in the final talks, including emissions cuts by developed countries of 80 per cent by 2050.
"'Why can't we even mention our own targets?' demanded a furious [German Premier] Angela Merkel.
"Australia's prime minister, Kevin Rudd, was annoyed enough to bang his microphone. Brazil's representative too pointed out the illogicality of China's position. Why should rich countries not announce even this unilateral cut?
"The Chinese delegate said no, and I watched, aghast, as Merkel threw up her hands in despair and conceded the point. Now we know why - because China bet, correctly, that Obama would get the blame for the Copenhagen accord's lack of ambition.
"But I saw Obama fighting desperately to salvage a deal, and the Chinese delegate saying "no", over and over again."
Lynas says the 2020 peaking year was then "replaced by woolly language" and the global 50 per cent cuts by 2050 were also removed.
"No-one else, perhaps with the exceptions of India and Saudi Arabia, wanted this to happen," Lynas said.
'Took the bait'
Lynas fears "the truth about what actually happened is in danger of being lost amid the spin and inevitable mutual recriminations".
"China's strategy was simple: block the open negotiations for two weeks, and then ensure that the closed-door deal made it look as if the west had failed the world's poor once again. And sure enough, the aid agencies, civil society movements and environmental groups all took the bait," he said.
"The failure was 'the inevitable result of rich countries refusing adequately and fairly to shoulder their overwhelming responsibility', said Christian Aid. 'Rich countries have bullied developing nations,' fumed Friends of the Earth International.
"All very predictable, but the complete opposite of the truth."
He is dismissive of the role played by Sudanese delegate Lumumba Di-Aping, who negotiated on behalf of China and developing countries, accusing Sudan of behaving as China's puppet and helping to create the "perfect stitch-up".
Lynas also said China carried out a clear diplomatic snub at the talks.
"The Chinese premier, Wen Jinbao, did not deign to attend the meetings personally, instead sending a second-tier official in the country's foreign ministry to sit opposite Obama himself," he said.
"The diplomatic snub was obvious and brutal, as was the practical implication: several times during the session, the world's most powerful heads of state were forced to wait around as the Chinese delegate went off to make telephone calls to his 'superiors'."
India's stance
India has already confirmed it worked with China and other emerging nations to ensure there were no legally binding targets at the talks.
India's Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh earlier faced parliament for the first time since the UN talks, saying the nation had "come out quite well in Copenhagen".
"We can be satisfied that we were able to get our way on this issue," declared Mr Ramesh, who has consistently said India would be one of the countries hardest hit by climate change.
He said India, China, South Africa and Brazil had emerged as a powerful force and said the group had protected its right to continued economic growth.
Mr Ramesh said India would continue to work with its allies "to ensure that the interests of developing countries and India in particular are protected in the course of negotiations in 2010 and beyond".
Britain's blame
Britain has also said the meeting was lurched into farce and pointed the finger of blame at Beijing.
While British Prime Minister Gordon Brown refrained from naming countries, his climate change minister Ed Miliband said China had led a group of countries that "hijacked" the negotiations which had at times presented "a farcical picture to the public".
"We did not get an agreement on 50 per cent reductions in global emissions by 2050 or on 80 per cent reductions by developed countries," he wrote in The Guardian.
"Both were vetoed by China, despite the support of a coalition of developed and the vast majority of developing countries."
China, the world's top polluter, doggedly resisted pressure for outside scrutiny of its emissions.
The sum of your post is that China lives in the real world of making useful tangible items as the way to prosperity. This practical thinking extends to them seeing through the global warming scam and giving it no respect
In contrast America thinks prosperity comes through shuffling financial assets, flippping houses and government takeover of the health care system and BULLSHIT green jobs. America and Europe also buy into the white liberal guilt hokum of global warming where our prosperity is a sin against planet earth and the brown peoples in the 3rd world. This is the magical thinking of silly atheists
China India and Brazil are realists and up and comers. Brazil is commie ruled but enviro-wackos are repressed there. Are shoved out of the way as Brazil explores for oil and does other un-green things to try to develope their economy
I don’t understand this. If some Western countries wanted to unilaterally announce some target, what exactly prevented them to do so?
Not only that, Obama is being treated by the ChiComs as a toy, as a plaything, as a punching bag.
Re: China India and Brazil are realists and up and comers
yep. I guess I’m also tempted to put Russia in the mix as well.
Zero’s reign of terror could accelerate in January with EPA’s first GHG command-and-control edicts ...
“Dashed cunning, these Orientals!”
Same here.
Hearty congratulations are in order to the People's Republic of China, for saving mankind from an economic catastrophe, brought on by the gloBULL warming fraudsters, and for very cleverly making 0bozo the fall guy(if that is true).
Disagreements. Rifts. Self-interests. It’s all branded a failure.
The Beijing delagation was there representing what Niall Ferguson refers to as Chimerica. Obama was there represeting Soros, Strong, Gore, Sec. Gen. Moon, Ed Begley, Jr. etc.
China’s version of Chicago style politics, screw them before they screw you.
Looks to me like the Premier “did sex” to Obama
http://www.danwei.org/featured_video/saturday_night_live_on_obama_v.php
Re: Chimerica
good one! How true.
and me.
And a big bit is payback for ObiWankaNewbie barging into a meeting of the G4 as if his skin colour entitled him to be there.
Russia too...the BRIC nations
But Russia has population decline problems which China India and Brazil do not have. Russia has plenty of oil, nat gas and gold but a diminishing population with too many male alcoholic fools
"The Chinese premier, Wen Jinbao, did not deign to attend the meetings personally, instead sending a second-tier official in the country's foreign ministry to sit opposite Obama himself," he said. "The diplomatic snub was obvious and brutal, as was the practical implication: several times during the session, the world's most powerful heads of state were forced to wait around as the Chinese delegate went off to make telephone calls to his 'superiors'."Egads! I have virtually no negotiating experience but even I could have avoided that slipup. When he leaves to make a phone call, very very politely remind him that the Premier is invited to participate in the talks directly. And when he comes back, say something like "While you were gone, the rest of us decided on A, B, and C". Obama can't force the Premier to come. But he has absolute control over whether he waits around for a subordinate. (Or bursts angrily into a room as was reported elsewhere).
I think the Chinese government couldn’t care less about embarrassing the Kenyan Muslim. Rather, I suspect they are trying to pull the globull warming economic shotgun out of our mouths so that we’ll keep paying on our loans until they reach full solvency as the dominant super power in the world.
Usually the simplest explanation is the correct one.
Who thought we would ever see the day when:
- China takes stronger capitalist pro-growth actions than the US during the mini-depression, and sees a much faster recovery
- China maintains a strong pro-manufacturing, pro-jobs economy while the US sheds jobs and continues to penalize manufacturing
- China gets it right on enviro-terrorism while the US passes the greens billions in new cash and new squeaky toys
- China aggressively runs around the globe locking-in future fossil energy positions at the lowest costs in decades (while the US sits on its hands and scuttles nearly all new coal fired electric plants because of regulatory uncertainty)
Now tell me, which nation is capitalist? Which nation has the biggest political risks when it comes to 30-40 year energy decisions?
BRILLIANT COMMENTS!
Even worse, they’re playing “Go”.
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