Walkout

The G77 and China, a bloc that includes Caribbean states, walked out of negotiations on November 20th, saying they were frustrated by the non-agreement over who will take legal responsibility for the loss and damage caused by the changing climate. The negotiations continued into the predawn hours of November 20th and delegates from the group of 133-member countries walked out around 4 a.m. James Fletcher, St. Lucia’s Minister of Sustainable Development, told the Caribbean Media Corporation that he was briefed on the development. “They were not happy with the way the loss and damage negotiations have been proceeding,” he said in reference to negotiators from the bloc, which comprises the world poorest nations, many of which are most vulnerable to the impact of climate change. Fletcher said loss and damage, a contentious issue at the two weeks of talks, is “a very big issue” for the bloc, adding that the group fought hard to get the subject on the agenda of this year’s talks. “…it is one of the outcomes that we are looking for from Warsaw,” he further said, adding that climate finance, and commitments to reducing carbon emissions are also important to the bloc. He said the announcement by Japan last week that it was reducing its carbon emissions reduction target did not help the negotiations. “It is bad enough coming into a conference where ambition is already so low and to leave it with ambition even lower than when you came in is not a good thing,” Fletcher told CMC. “…I think the G77 and China really was expressing its strong displeasure with the way in which loss and damage negotiations have been going. … I think it really shows how strongly we really feel about loss and damage and how we want the international community to listen to our issues on loss and damage,” he said.

Courtesy: www.cananewsonline.com