Swedish premier: Financial crisis a challenge for climate talks
The Earth Times, 28 Dec 2008
Stockholm - The global financial crisis has made efforts to agree on a new global treaty on climate change more challenging, Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said in an interview published Sunday. "A lot of the political energy that existed a few years ago has disappeared," Reinfeldt told the Stockholm daily Svenska Dagbladet.
The financial crisis means that "there are fewer shoulders to push the process. Many use estimates that aim to make their own country do less," Reinfeldt said.
Sweden in July 2009 takes on the rotating presidency of the European Union, one of the players in upcoming talks on a global climate treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol that expires in 2012.
Reinfeldt said he was "uncertain" if the new treaty due to be agreed on at the end of 2009 will set "global targets that everyone works for."
The Swedish premier said he anticipated "a bunch of commitments" that differ between countries but are sufficient for other countries to accept.
Another issue is if the new treaty should be legally binding, a move that would require ratification, for instance by the US Senate.
Reinfeldt noted that the US Senate did not ratify the Kyoto Protocol even under the Clinton administration.
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