Planet in peril: Passers-by look at a picture of the Earth at the "Technologies for Climate Protection" exhibition during the UN Climate Change Conference in Poznan this week.
Credit: AFP
Even Germany, which spearheaded the EU-wide pact, has recently said its energy-intensive auto and cement industries should be given extra time before being forced to pay for polluting rights.
"If the EU fails to adopt an ambitious package, then its credibility – when it asks for commitments from others – will be weakened," commented a non-EU negotiator from Europe.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and a good part of her cabinet will hold talks in Warsaw today, with climate high on the agenda.
"Complicated moment"
A hastily convened climate summit on Saturday in Poland between French President Nicolas Sarkozy and leaders from nine East European nations failed to smooth over differences.
"We are at a complicated moment," said Brice Lalonde, France's climate ambassador.
Despite the oft-repeated mantra that the financial crisis will not block progress, "everyone knows that there is going to be less money on the table over the next two years," he said.
The infighting within Europe has already taken a toll on the larger climate debate, some observers said.
"We don't see the same political leadership we saw last year," said Hans Verolme, a consultant for Climate Action Network, a U.S.-based environmental group. "The EU is often simply absent."
Looking to Obama
Others are looking to the United States to give the process a boost, encouraged by the arrival of President-elect Barack Obama.
But on the ground in Poznan, the United States is still represented by the outgoing administration of George W. Bush, which dealt a nearly fatal blow to climate talks when it ditched the Kyoto Protocol in 2001.
Still, some seasoned negotiators here are confident that Europe will come through – "even if it is at the last minute," in the words of one delegate.
"We all have big expectations of the EU. But I am convinced that the EU is going to solve these internal problems and reaffirm its leadership on the climate issue," he said. "The problem right now is more a lack of ideas – nobody has clear ideas."
Global Warming not a lame duck it's a dead duck.
The sooner people come to realise that Anthropogenic Global Warming is a gigantic con trick then less time will be wasted on pointless conferences and meetings and hopefully this energy will be directed towards the real problems of the world.
Global Warming
The belief that man has caused global warming is the single largest hoax in history. How sad.