Agreement for new treaty after two weeks of talks at United Nations climate change conference.
The climate change talks, which took place on the Indonesian island of Bali, were not plain sailing and the deal is far from perfect. At one point the United States blocked a proposal from developing countries claiming that they were not accepting their full responsibilities.
Head of the US delegation Paula Dobriansky said that they would like to find a way forward but would not accept the current proposals. South African Environment Minister Marthinus Christoffel Johannes van Schalkwyk said that the US reference to developing countries not accepting their responsibilities was most unwelcome and without any basis. The United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-moon urged all parties to reach agreement for the good of humanity. The US reversed its opposition and consensus was secured.
While the final text of the agreement did not detail specific cuts in omissions, the Irish delegation was satisfied with the compromise. Minister for the Environment John Gormley said that the most important outcome is that the US are back in the tent.
We're not going to have binding targets as the EU wanted but certainly we now have what they call quantifiable measures.
Pat Finnegan of Greenhouse Ireland Action Network said that the US had no other option but sign up for the Bali road map.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 15 December 2007. The reporter is Paul Cunningham.
