Doha 4

The Doha (Qatar) conference on climate change closed yesterday after negotiators stayed on an extra day trying to produce something that might justify their time and effort.  In the end, according to reports, they didn’t come up with much.  Basically, it seems participants adopted the strategy of second-rate soccer teams deciding to kick the ball down field and hope.

The conference ended with agreement only to maintain the 1997 Kyoto Protocol and to work to have a new agreement in place by 2015, which would take effect in 2020.  There was, however, no agreement at all on any details.  For example, on the issue loss and damage due to extreme weather, participants approved language calling for more financial and technical assistance to poorer countries, but remained silent on any mechanism to marshall and apply such aid.

I guess we shouldn’t be too surprised.  Extreme storms, like Hurricane Sandy in the U.S. and Typhoon Bopha in the Philippines, have killed large number of people and caused billions of dollars of damage.  Drought conditions in the American midlands and other places in the world are destroying crops and disrupting river transport.  More people, it seems, recognize the connection of these conditions to  warmer temperatures in the oceans and atmosphere.  Yet the effects of the 2008 economic crisis still hang over most countries, both industrialized and developing.  In the U.S. and Europe it’s hard for political leaders to talk about cutting fossil fuel use when they’re trying to stimulate economic growth and create new jobs.

Next year's meeting will be in Poland.