India sets 15 December deadline for negotiations at Copenhagen
14 Dec 2009
Copenhagen: UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon arrived at Copenhagen ''cautiously optimistic'' about the outcome. The Copenhagen summit is tasked with the responsibility of hammering out a landmark deal that can be endorsed on Friday by about 120 world leaders.
Meanwhile, 48 environment ministers spent a day locked in talks with the Danish president of the proceedings and Yvo de Boer, the UN's top representative at the climate change summit.
Boer emerged from the meet to say that he believed the biggest resistance to an effective deal was coming from China, as the country was resisting an agreement that involved inspectors visiting the country to verify progress on climate commitments.
The situation, as it has developed so far, is that the developed world wants a completely new treaty which would bring China and the US into the fold as neither country is currently a member of the Kyoto Protocol.
Both these countries rejected the Kyoto Protocol precisely because it did not impose emissions reduction targets on all countries.
China now is the world's largest polluter, followed by the United States.
