US Delegation Warns Against "Unrealistic" Hopes For Climate Agreement This Year

[hatrack]

WASHINGTON, April 19, 2010 (AFP) - The United States on Monday downplayed hopes of clinching a new climate treaty this year, warning against unrealistic expectations despite what it said was growing agreement among major nations.

The United States convened representatives of the world's major economies for two days of casual talks, hoping to gain an understanding of what would be possible at the next UN-led climate summit in December in Cancun, Mexico. A statement issued afterward stressed "the importance of setting realistic expectations for Cancun," saying only that nations should "at a minimum agree on a balanced set of decisions" based on last December's summit in Copenhagen.

Todd Stern, the chief US climate negotiator, said that nearly all negotiators wanted to keep expectations in check for Cancun. He attributed the wide criticism of the Copenhagen summit largely to unrealistic hopes.

"There's no question that, globally, expectations got out ahead of what was really achievable and I don't think that's useful," Stern told reporters on a conference call.

EDIT

http://news.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/World/Story/A1Story20100420-211401.html

[villager]

1. "We're working on a corporate-friendly plan that will 'solve' the problem in about a hundred years!"

"Oh. Wait..."

[Birthmark]

2. Translation

"It doesn't matter what we do. It's not like *we'll* be the ones paying for our irresponsibility --and acting responsibly would be a terrible inconvenience to *us*. And, really, aren't we what it's really all about?"

Future generations will look back on us with utter scorn --and rightfully so.

[joshcryer]

6. Future generations will hopefully look at this mistake and turn toward science for answers.

We're having a glut, at least in the United States, of anti-scientific bullshit. That needs to change, and I'm glad Obama at least has started to reinvigorate that aspect. Too bad that it's still a generation away.

[90-percent]

3. Climate Treaty

REALISTIC CONSEQUENCES of ignoring GCC trump UNREALISTIC HOPES.

My hope is to be dead by the time global warming impacts the world to a greater magnitude than World War Three! I am thankful my wife and I did not reproduce. What a despicable thing to wreak upon all the unborn, this global climate change!

-90% Jimmy

[joshcryer]

5. I plan to be surviving through it in my old age, and watching the specticle that was because of...

...our generation (at my age, really the generation before mine, but I can take a lot of the blame).

[joshcryer]

4. COP15 was a failure, we're going to spend the next decade wringing our hands about climate change.

There will be small things done, incentives and the like, but nothing serious enough to mitigate catastrophic climate change.

[Nihil]

7. Yeah ... "unrealistic" to expect politicians to do anything other than grovel to their paymasters.

> Todd Stern, the chief US climate negotiator, said that nearly all negotiators
> wanted to keep expectations in check for Cancun. He attributed the wide criticism
> of the Copenhagen summit largely to unrealistic hopes.

Well, "Chief US Climate Negotiator", the best bet for the planet is that someone
drops a f*cking big bomb on the next meeting so that people who *care* about the
planet can get to work without all of the corporate talking-heads deliberately
stone-walling any progress. Hmmm ... anyone come to mind?