Poor hit back at rich over new carbon emission demands

Developing countries are standing their ground against demands by rich nations to add steps to curb carbon emissions into a formal registry or appendix as part a broader pact to fight climate change.

Developing countries have been ramping up voluntary efforts to curb emissions but wealthy states want these steps to be legally binding to make it easier to gauge the global level of ambition to fight climate change.

In short, they want such steps added to a registry or appendix, or to "write them on a piece of paper," one delegate from a rich country told Reuters.

That would also help determine how much cash rich nations could give to poorer states to adapt to climate change impacts and to green their economies.

Developing countries, though, fear a formal registry would mean meeting legally binding carbon curbs, something they say existing U.N. rules don't oblige them to commit to.

Rich nations want to create a more flexible arrangement than the current Kyoto Protocol that would allow all nations to choose emissions reduction steps according to their circumstances.

The demand has become a major focus of U.N. climate talks in Bangkok but has drawn the ire of some developing nations, particularly for voluntary steps not funded by rich countries. "We will do our measurement, reporting and verification.

But it's our initiative. It's none of their business," said Agus Purnomo, head of the Indonesian delegation at climate talks in Bangkok.

"If they put money, if they supported us, yes, part of what we're doing becomes their business." Some green groups fear the evolving debate on what is called the architecture of a new climate agreement might lead to backsliding on steps to curb, or mitigate, emissions.

But Australia, which has proposed what it calls national schedules, says this isn't so.

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Source: Reuters