BERLIN - Germany's environment minister said on Thursday that governments around the world must agree before the end of the year on a plan to negotiate an extension of the Kyoto Protocol on cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
Speaking ahead of a two-day meeting of environment ministers from the Group of Eight (G8) industrialised nations and top developing countries beginning in Potsdam on Friday, Sigmar Gabriel said time was running out for the Kyoto Protocol.
"In Bali there must be a decision made on a negotiating mandate that enables a follow-up regime for the period after 2012, after the expiration of the Kyoto Protocol," Gabriel said.
He was referring to a December meeting of the world's environment ministers in Bali, Indonesia.
"There has to be progress made on climate protection. We can't let it end in 2012," he told reporters.
Gabriel said the aim of the Potsdam meeting was not to produce documents but to discuss climate change and explore ways of bridging the wide gap between the positions of the industrialised and developing countries. Some UN officials say the disagreements are so intense there may be no deal on a negotiating mandate in Bali.
"The positions of developing countries and industrialised countries are still some way apart from each other, quite apart from the lack of clarity there is in talks about the future of climate protection in the United States," Gabriel said.
The United States pulled out of the UN's Kyoto Protocol in 2001. However, European officials say the administration of US President George W. Bush is beginning to re-evaluate its stand on climate change, partly because of intense public pressure.
But developing countries are refusing to budge on emissions control as long as the United States maintains its negative stance on the Kyoto Protocol.
EU TAKES THE LEAD
A UN panel said last month that mankind was to blame for global warming, and predicted more droughts, heat waves and a slow rise in sea levels that could continue for more than 1,000 years even if greenhouse gas emissions were capped.
Climate change will be one of the top items on the agenda of the June G8 summit in the German Baltic resort of Heiligendamm. Germany is currently president of both the G8 and the European Union.
The G8 members are Germany, the United States, Britain, France, Italy, Canada, Japan and Russia. Also attending the two-day G8 ministers meeting in Potsdam will be officials from China, India, South Africa, Brazil and Mexico.
The EU is lobbying to make the post-2012 target a 30 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
Last week, EU leaders agreed to a binding 20 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by 2020 but said they would go for 30 percent if other developed countries joined in.
"The international goal is to reduce emissions by 30 percent by 2020 and then by 60 to 80 percent by the middle of the century. That's quite a challenge," Gabriel said.
Story by Louis Charbonneau
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
