Friday December 18, 2009

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday December 18, 2009

Fight to control Copenhagen climate change fund

The deadlock over who should cut carbon emissions and by how much may be dominating the headlines here in Copenhagen but behind the scenes an equally big issue is being thrashed out. It’s a fight for control of the massive new fund that will challenge our changing climate.

So far there has been no agreement regarding how this money should be managed and where it should be channelled as negotiating bodies from the developed and developing worlds hold fast to their polarised positions.

“So far, we have no agreement on the new climate fund or the body that will oversee it” Jukka Uosukainen, a co-facilitator representing the developed countries in the financial negotiations told the BBC.

“But if we have an overall agreement in this summit, I think we can still reach into an agreement.”

US negotiators are backing the idea of a new climate fund which, insiders say, would have the Washington-based World Bank as its trustee.

However, the developing world groupings at Copenhagen want a new body to control the fund which would be under the direct control of the Conference of Parties. The COP brings together all 192 countries that have signed the United Nations Convention Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). (Source: BBC News)