Sharing: CLIMATE CHANGE: US Herded Into Consensus in Bali

CLIMATE CHANGE: US Herded Into Consensus in Bali
By Marwaan Macan-Markar

NUSA DUA, Bali, Indonesia, Dec 15 (IPS) - It was left to India, China, South Africa and Brazil to stand up for the developing world and steer the United States towards the consensus as a major two-week international climate change conference ended here on Saturday.

The final agreement for the ‘Bali Roadmap’ was struck when the head of the U.S. government delegation, Paula Dobriansky, conceded ground to insightful and, at times, emotional appeals by countries from the Group of 77 and China. ‘’We will go forward and join the consensus,’’ said Dobriansky, under secretary of state for democracy and global affairs, to loud applause.

The deep frustration shared by the members of G-77, a 130-member bloc of developing countries spanning Africa, Asia and Latin America, to U.S. objections to language in the final text of the roadmap was best echoed by the delegate from Papua New Guinea. ‘’If you cannot lead, leave it to the rest of us. Please get out of the way,’’ a visibly angry Kevin Conrad told U.S. officials to cheers from other delegates.
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