Climate change talks in Peru are currently stalled, as wealthier countries and developing nations are mired in disagreements over costs.
Some developing nations claim that richer countries, such as the United States, are shrinking from their responsibilities to battle global climate change. The largest nation in the world, China, is leading developing nations at the talk, but it remains a leading source of greenhouse gases responsible for global climate change.
Negotiations between international groups will take place in Paris in 2015, with a goal of reaching a consensus to mitigate global warming. The talks in Peru are aimed at developing pledges that countries will submit to the upcoming negotiations in France.
A draft resolution was rejected by developing nations, who claimed the document did not differentiate responsibilities of their nations from those of wealthier countries.
"Mankind is creating the problem, and mankind can solve the problem. And unlike some problems that we face, this one already has a ready-made solution provided by mankind that is staring us in the face: The solution to climate change is energy policy," John Kerry, U.S. secretary of state, said.
The 1997 Kyoto Protocol required richer nations to take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while developing countries, including China, were free of such responsibility. The tentative agreement under development in Lima would call for reductions of greenhouse gases from all nations.
The Lima talks were scheduled to end on Dec. 12, but that schedule was extended after negotiators failed to reach an agreement. Representatives of 190 nations at the talks have suspended negotiations, after failing to reach a consensus.
Agreements by the U.S. and China were announced in November, limiting emissions of greenhouse gases. Any excitement generated among environmentalists by these statements fizzled in Lima, as talks ground to a standstill over costs.
China and other developing nations are calling for richer countries to pay some of the costs for developing nations of reducing greenhouse gases. Negotiators from the Philippines and other island nations are criticizing each side for stalling talks, while their countries are at risk of massive flooding from rising global temperatures.
The upcoming talks in Paris next year are aimed at reducing global warming to 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit over pre-industrial levels. Many climatologists believe rising temperatures beyond that mark could create massive devastation around the world, in the form of melting ice caps and rising sea levels. In order to reach that goal, mankind may need to either capture all emissions of greenhouse gases created by fossil fuels, or replace those energy sources entirely.
