OneWorld.net (U.S.)

By Daniel Nelson

Does Japan want to scrap the international agreement on climate change?

That is the question put by the world's biggest climate action NGO network, CAN, at the start of the second day of United Nations negotiations on a programme to tackle global warming.

Steven Guilbeault of Equiterre Canada - part of the CAN network - accused Japan, Canada, Saudi Arabia and the United States of trying to block moves towards an agreement to cut global emissions.

"Saudi Arabia would like nothing more than for the negotiations to collapse", he told a news conference. They have continually tried to block negotiations.

"The US also would like nothing to happen", he said, but he doubted that Washington would play a strong proactive role - "they will let their Japanese and Canadian colleagues do it."

This group of countries, he said, would be happy to see the Bali conference talk about "aspirations" and a "shopping list" of possible actions: "We don't need that. We need work and timetables."

His comments echoed a bulletin representing CAN views and which is a must-read for many conference delegates: it expressed concern about Japan's statement to the conference on Monday because the statement failed to mention "binding emissions targets".

Is Japan trying to go back to an old position under which each country can decide whatever action it wants to take, rather than negotiate the binding emissions reduction targets that are needed to solve the problem, CAN asked.

Such targets, said CAN, formed the heart of the Kyoto Protocol, which came into force in 2005 and under which 36 industrialised countries and the European Union have committed to reducing their greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 5 per cent by 2012 against 1990 levels.

A Japanese statement is expected later in the day.