The head of the U.S. delegation to the Poznan climate talks Harlan Watson said on Monday that any outcome in Copenhagen next year may not be the final final, but a step forward in fighting climate change.
"It may not be the final final, but something we really believe will move the ball forward," Watson told a press conference here, referring to a possible outcome in Copenhagen next December.
Looking towards a possible deal in Copenhagen next December to succeed the Kyoto Protocol that will expire in 2012, he said a Copenhagen deal would not be easy by that time. "Whether or not there can be an agreement at the time of Copenhagen remains to be seen, and that would not be easy, but I think there is broad commitment, certainly on the part of this administration (the Bush administration)," he said.
Watson said the United States is expecting a negotiating text for a possible Copenhagen deal to be in place in June. "I fully expect, and I think the negotiators will expect, that we'll be looking for a negotiating text in June," Watson said. "Negotiating text of some kind would be put forward to the parties."
At present, parties participating in the Poznan talks in central Poland are still working hard to condense a 82-page long document towards a real negotiating text. The Poznan climate talks were widely regarded as a half-way mark that will take stock of the progress that has achieved since the Bali conference last December and try to seal a deal in Copenhagen next December.
The United States is undergoing a power transition period afterthe elections. President-elect Barack Obama has rejected the Bush administration's hardline position on climate change, promising to engage vigorously with the world in addressing climate change. But many worry that the U.S. president-elect cannot complete a domestic legislation in time to bring any commitment to the table in Copenhagen next year, thereby threatening a possible deal to succeed the first period of the Kyoto Protocol in 2012.
Source:Xinhua
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