Permit Price Declines, China-U.K. Dispute Follows Copenhagen

The aftermath of the Copenhagen talks saw the price of CO2 emissions permits on the EU market drop more than 8 percent and a dispute between the U.K. and China over whether China had aided or blocked progress in Copenhagen, the Associated Press reported. U.K. climate change minister Edward Miliband asserted that China was one of the "leading developing countries" that "refuse to countenance" binding GHG emissions cuts. He claimed that vetoes by China had "hijacked" work by other countries on emissions-reduction by goals.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu responded by calling on the U.K. and others to "correct their mistakes, fulfill their obligations to developing countries in an earnest way" and avoid "activities that hinder the international community's cooperation in coping with climate change."

EU emissions permit prices had fallen 14 percent since the start of the Copenhagen talks, including an 8.3-percent dip yesterday, Bloomberg reported. Barclays Capital emissions analyst Trevor Sikorski said the Copenhagen Accord "seems to be below even our modest expectations" for results from the talks. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the accord "fulfills in large part the benchmarks for success that I had laid down" but did not meet "the scientific bottom line."

Ban expressed confidence that "we will be able to build upon this Copenhagen Accord," Greenwire reported. Ban added: "We will consider how to streamline the negotiation process. All these lessons will be carefully reviewed today for a better result next year."

- Related stories also appeared in Xinhua, Wall Street Journal, Wall Street Journal, Congressional Quarterly Today, and Time.