China, U.S. Faulted for Tepid Outcome of Copenhagen Summit

Following the Copenhagen climate summit, recriminations flew between nations, many of which singled out China and the U.S. as the reason no serious agreement was reached to reduce GHG emissions. The New York Times today quoted Andreas Carlgren, the environment minister of Sweden, which holds the one-year EU presidency, as saying: "It was obvious that the United States and China didn't want more than we achieved at Copenhagen."

In a separate Times article today, British secretary for energy and climate change Ed Miliband was quoted as accusing China of blocking any significant action on GHG reductions in a commentary published by the Guardian: "The last two weeks at times have presented a farcical picture to the public. We cannot again allow negotiations on real points of substance to be hijacked in this way." Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Jiang Yu reacted, saying that "an individual British politician" sought to dodge developed nations' obligations. "We urge them to correct mistakes, fulfill their obligations to developing countries in an earnest way, and stay away from activities that hinder the international community."

South Africa slammed the Copenhagen summit for failing to "produce a legally binding climate change agreement" and joined a "global chorus of condemnation even though it helped draft the final accord," wrote the Associated Press. Reuters quoted Sweden's Carlgren as saying: "Europe never lost its aim, never, never came to splits or different positions, but of course this was mainly about other countries really (being) unwilling, and especially the United States and China."

- Related article also appeared in the Associated Press via the Washington Post.