No agreement on climate change as UN summit in Peru enters final hours

2014-12-12 23

As UN climate talks come to an end in Peru, negotiators have only agreed on one paragraph of a crucial draft document intended to limit greenhouse gas emissions.

Representatives of almost 200 countries are supposed to be agreeing a deal to be signed at a summit in Paris next year.

US Secretary of State John Kerry appeared at the talks and called on each country to play its part in fighting climate change.

“Every nation has a responsibility to do its part if we’re going to pass this test, and only those nations who step up and respond to this threat can legitimately lay claim to any mantle of leadership and global responsibility. And yes, if you are a big, developed nation and you’re not helping to lead, then you are part of the problem,” he said.

The COP20 talks began with optimism ten days ago when around 8 billion Euros was pledged to the Green Climate Fund to help the world’s poorest countries cope with climate change. Since then the talks have fallen into a rut with objections being raised to almost every single clause in the document.