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Uncertainty at Top-Level UN Climate Summit Session

MEXICO, December 8, 2010. - The Summit on Climate Change, taking place in Cancun, a resort city on Mexico's Caribbean coast, continues Wednesday the second day of top-level debates, with high degree of uncertainty and disputes over the extension of the Kyoto Protocol beyond 2012 still unresolved.

According to the official agenda distributed by organizers of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (16 COP), a long list of speakers are expected to address the meeting, among them Ecuador's President Rafael Correa.

Other five statesmen and heads of government, as well as foreign and environment ministers from over 40 countries are also expected to speak on Thursday's morning session.

Debates are also expected over the issue of polluting gas mitigation (reduction of emissions), the main and most controversial topic under discussion in the Summit. The issue will surely be present in most speeches; particularly the way to face the effects of climate change.

The COP 16, opened on Tuesday, with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon and Mexican President Felipe Calderon among the officials that spoke at the opening ceremony of the upgraded portion of the annual talks, which aims to find a solution to fight global warming.

"We do not need to find solutions to all problems, but we need to make progress on all aspects," Ban told the ceremony, citing progress on mitigation and national emissions reduction commitments.

The secretary general called on parties to agree to a modest deal in Cancun without holding out for perfection.

"We cannot have a perfect agreement at this time ... perfect is the enemy of good," he said.

In Cancun, "every country can and must do more," Ban said. " Business as usual cannot be tolerated. Cancun must represent a breakthrough."

Ban also expressed his deep concern that the international community's efforts on climate negotiations so far have been insufficient.

Little progress was made during the first week of the UN conference. Developed countries, particularly Japan, and developing countries remain sharply divided over whether to extend the Kyoto Protocol.

Japan opposed to committing to a new period of the Protocol, while Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia have said they will not sign any other accords unless developed nations sign on for a new period.

The Kyoto Protocol was adopted in Japan in 1992 by major emitting countries, which committed themselves to cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 5.2 percent from their 1990 baseline levels by 2012. However, the U.S. Congress has refused to ratify the Protocol. (Cubaminrex-RHC)