International community in search of a second wind

摘要

In his opening remarks to the 16th Con ference of Parties to the United Nations Climate Convention and the Kyoto Pro tocol, on 29 November in Cancun, Mexi can President and conference host Felipe Calderon set the tone: "During these two weeks, the eyes of the world will be on you. [... ] It would be a tragedy not to look beyond national interests". Failure to do so would mean the end of the UN process. "The European Union will strive to secure a balanced agreement on a number of deci sions and to save the UN negotiation pro cess at the Cancun climate conference," added Climate Action Commissioner Connie Hedegaard, on 29 November in Brussels. As is typically the case, the first week is devoted to technical discussions by experts, after which the high-level politi cal officials will take the debates in hand during the second week with the hope of sealing an agreement. The hope this time is limited, however, to a "set of balanced decisions that would serve as a foundation for other agreements," according to Chris tiana Figueres, executive secretary of the convention.