Failed talks on greenhouse gases darken environment picture

By John Robinson
CNN Nature Editor

(CNN) -- Environmentalists worldwide were no doubt stunned after world leaders meeting this November at The Hague in the Netherlands failed to reach an agreement on how to implement the ideals set forth by the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. The Kyoto treaty was crafted specifically to cut major industrialized countries' greenhouse gas emissions, widely believed to contribute to global warming.

The purpose of The Hague talks was to try to agree on steps to implement the 1997 pact that called for a 5-percent average cut in developed nations' 1990 levels of emissions by the year 2010.

As to be expected in negotiations of this magnitude, the sticking point was in the details. The United States wanted credit for the amount of pollution soaked up by forests and farmlands, so-called "carbon sinks." The EU is adamantly opposed to that idea.

Conference chairman Jan Pronk decided not to close out The Hague meeting, but instead suspended it, saying it would resume early next year.

Officials from the United States and the EU met again in early December in Ottawa, Canada, in an attempt to address the major differences standing between them and a definitive pact to curb global warming.

Some progress was made although an agreement was not reached. It was made clear that significant differences remain over how best to cut the emission of greenhouse gases.

Despite the recent setbacks, many environmentalists remain optimistic and believe that an agreement can be reached if the parties continue to work to sort out their differences -- something to look forward to in 2001.