Countries in Bangkok grapple with transition to new climate regime as Doha nears

(BANGKOK/ WASHINGTON – September 5, 2012)  The latest round of UN climate negotiations ended today in Bangkok, Thailand. 

Alex Hanafi, attorney at Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and head of EDF’s delegation at the conference, said:

“In Bangkok, it became clearer still that the prospect of a new climate deal that calls for all countries to do their part to lower emissions is still in its very early stages, and countries are grappling with how to transition from the old regime to a still as-yet-undefined new one. 

“While international meetings slog along, bright spots continue appearing at the national, regional and state levels. Australia and Europe’s agreeing to link their carbon markets last month is the latest example of the kind of international cooperation needed to stitch together climate action into a whole that will be greater than the sum of its parts.

“Now countries’ ability to expeditiously resolve their differences on the continuation of the Kyoto Protocol, and to then focus on making substantive progress toward achieving a strong, enforceable and flexible climate agreement by 2015, will be the ultimate yardstick by which success in Doha’s negotiations will be measured.”