As Bonn Negotiations Conclude, U.S. Climate Leadership Still Missing

"The diplomats and negotiators in Bonn have been
treading water for two weeks, while back in the real world ice caps
have continued to melt at alarming rates and flash floods have
devastated parts of Australia," said Carroll Muffett, Greenpeace USA
deputy campaigns director. "As it stands, this exact same meeting will
be repeated in June. Heads of State must now inject leadership and
direction into the talks in order to avert catastrophic climate
change."
The Obama administration was
represented in the climate negotiations for the first time in Bonn and
the positive reengagement of the United States lifted the atmosphere,
but unfortunately little or no formal progress was made on key issues
and decisions.

"With the United States back on board, the atmosphere of the talks has
clearly improved. Nevertheless, industrialized countries failed to
agree on targets for reducing greenhouse gases, or the level of support
needed to help poor countries already suffering severe climate
impacts," Muffett said. "The meeting also failed to establish
commitments to provide the resources needed to prevent tropical
deforestation, a key part of solving the climate crisis."

He said the United States must come back to the process with solid
proposals in June and the rest of the industrialized world must knuckle
down and close the gap between what is on the table and what is needed.

Greenpeace is calling on developed countries to agree to an aggregate
emissions reduction target of 40 percent by 2020 and provide $140
billion annually to assist the developing world tackle climate change.

"We are on the brink of runaway climate change," Muffett said. "World
leaders need to realize that they can't change what the science
demands; they must urgently intervene and change the politics.
Greenpeace will be working on behalf of the billions of people who will
suffer to make sure that happens."