No U.S. - China Climate Change Deal

China tells U.S.: No deal


China’s climate negotiators have told Western counterparts they can’t agree to an “operational agreement” on climate change that President Barack Obama had hoped to bring home from Copenhagen –- and will push for a short, noncommittal collective statement at the end of the talks, according to American staffers briefed on the situation.

It’s not clear if remarks by Chinese officials, made during negotiating sessions on Wednesday night, signal the end of efforts to reach a significant agreement or simply represent an 11th hour bargaining tactic less than a day before Obama was due to arrive in Copenhagen.

But U.S. officials fear it's the former, with little time left to negotiate a real deal before COP 15’s conclusion Friday.

Lead U.S. negotiator Todd Stern told POLITICO late Wednesday that his staff had not engaged in one-on-one “bilats” with China for a whole day – and hadn’t even addressed a major issue, a proposed “border tax” on countries that flouted international accords. That provision was included in the cap-and-trade measure the House passed in July – and no bill omitting it is likely to pass the Senate.

The apparent stalemate coincides with the arrival in Copenhagen of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and a 20-member delegation of House members, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who had viewed the trip as a triumph following the lower chamber’s summer passage of a sweeping climate change bill.

If China has, in fact, pulled the plug it would deal a major blow to efforts by Democrats in the Senate to revive stalled efforts at passing vitally important companion legislation. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) warned the conference Wednesday that the Senate isn’t likely to move if lawmaker perceive America taking more stringent steps than trading partners and rivals in China and India.

China’s negotiators have been chafing against U.S. and European officials all week, resisting efforts for greater transparency in emissions monitoring and siding with a revolt by poorer nations to force the West to make deeper financial concessions to compensate for global warming.

“I’m not surprised that they are blocking it,” said Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), an opponent of a global emissions agreement who arrived in Denmark Thursday. “China has been voicing these concerns for a long time.”

A western official told Reuters, which first reported China’s intransigence, that Beijing has suggested issuing "a short political declaration of some sort" – although it was unclear what such a document would contain.

China seemed to be moving in that direction on Wednesday, demanding that Western negotiations simplify existing draft agreements.

Closed-door talks continued on Thursday amid tight security at the Bella Center, with many of the non-governmental groups de-credentialed from to accommodate high-level officials from nearly 200 countries.

A hint of hope appeared late Wednesday when the chief African negotiator signaled he was willing to slacken demands for funding of a fund to compensate poor countries hit by global warming. But the mood turned increasingly gloomy as night fell and the snow accumulated on the flash-frozen city.

Britain's energy and climate minister, Ed Miliband, warned that the two-week conference risked becoming a "farce" if it more progress isn't made.

"We may not get there on the substance. It is quite possible we'll fail on the substance. But at least let's give it a try," he said.

Yvo de Boer, the U.N.'s top climate official, told reporters late Wednesday, negotiations had come to an “unexpected stop” but predicted that “the rest of the ride is going to be fast, smooth and relaxing.”

Thursday morning, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, sensing the chances of a deal slipping away, told the conference: "I fear a triumph of inaction over action. Let us instead as leaders resolve to decide for the future."

Pelosi, for her part, had kept her plans to attend Copenhagen secret until the last minute, as the House churned through a series of late votes.

Her delegation includes a handful of Democrats instrumental in crafting this summer’s bill: Reps. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), Edward Markey (D-Mass.), House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), Jay Inslee (D-Wash.), along with embattled House Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), who was not on the early lists of possible attendees.

Republicans making the trip include James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), John Sullivan (R-Okla.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.).

Pelosi is due to speak at a roundtable Thursday morning and will hold a news conference Thursday afternoon.



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Sources: Politico, Google Maps