Head of the US delegation to Lima for the climate talks Todd Stern on Monday said that while the United States was in favour of the classic principle of common but differentiated responsibility, it was not in favour of the categories reflected in 1992 in the Kyoto Protocol.
Speaking to the media he said these categories were set up to make sure the developing countries don’t have to take on the burden of climate change. However the world doesn’t stop and it keeps changing dramatically and every year dozens of countries were being added to the list of developed countries or annexe one. It is untenable to continue to accept the old categories politically as well for developed countries, he said.
The US comes into the Lima meeting in a strong position having just announced its ambitions to reduce emissions. In addition in the last two years there is a steady drum beat of actions from President Obama, he added.
He said countries had discussed a range of issues last week and the atmosphere was positive here and there was good will. He said the objectives of Lima were not going to be easy and countries were working together and hopefully there will be some progress. The structure of the Paris agreement is based on the contributions of countries and there was a need to decide a procedural mechanism on the consultative process. The contributions from each country can be forwarded early enough so that everyone can discuss it in time for Paris. The targets should be unconditional, he pointed out. He said the US was perfectly happy to have an assessment process and what kind of process that should be is the subject of discussion in he next four or five days.
