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Shi Jiangtao

UN climate talks  ended in Tianjin  yesterday with most countries disappointed at the lack of progress and a dispute between the world's two biggest polluters escalating.
Negotiators from more than 170 countries put on a brave face at the end of the week-long gathering, saying the world should remain hopeful about 'a balanced outcome' at the UN climate conference in Cancun, Mexico, next month. 
But most were disappointed at the lack of movement on core issues, and environmentalists highlighted the lack of trust and urgency among major players. 
The week-long climate talks in Tianjin, the first China has hosted, opened with negotiations at a new low following last year's  frustrating failure at Copenhagen.
So, instead of aiming for a binding deal on global warming, delegates sought to build trust between rich and poor countries by trying to identify areas of consensus and laying the groundwork for the negotiating text for Cancun.
But even that limited task wasn't easy. According to the UN, headway was made in only a few of the key issues, which ranged from the future of the Kyoto Protocol, to carbon cuts, financing, technology transfer and a long-term shared vision.
Negotiators appear to have only agreed on the scope of the issues to be discussed in Cancun rather than actual content. And, they were even unable to trim the 70-odd pages of the negotiating text as previously hoped.
'It's apparent that there's not much sense of urgency in the talks,' a mainland negotiator said. 'It is not yet time for bitter last-minute compromises.' 
In an emotional appeal yesterday, Taukei Kitara,  an environmentalist from the low-lying island state of Tuvalu,  said his countrymen and women were suffering from global warming and were frustrated and disappointed with the outcome of the talks.
But UN climate chief Christiana Figueres,  who took office just five months ago, struck a positive note.
 'This week has got us closer to a structured set of decisions that can be agreed in Cancun,' she said.  
Su Wei, China's chief negotiator, also said the talks had managed to move forward, expanding common ground and resulting in fewer differences. 
But the EU and the US were more critical. Peter Wittoeck,  chief negotiator of Belgium, which holds the EU presidency, said there was a mixed sentiment among delegates over the progress, which he described as 'slow, uneven and back and forth' sometimes. He made little effort to hide glaring disagreements between developed and developing countries, accusing some developing nations of blocking the talks by avoiding sensitive issues.  
US deputy envoy Jonathan Pershing  pointed the finger squarely at China yesterday, warning that China's backtracking on a non-binding political agreement both countries helped broker in Copenhagen risked putting the talks in jeopardy. 
'If this negotiation starts down a false path, it will not lead to the agreement in Cancun that we are all working so hard to achieve,' he said. 'The lack of progress [in Tianjin] gives us concern about the prospect for Cancun.' 
The warning followed US climate envoy Todd Stern's  accusation on Friday that China had ignored the so-called Copenhagen Accord on pledges of emissions reduction and transparency. 
Su fought back yesterday, saying the US accusation was 'ill-founded' and a deliberate attempt to smear China. 
'The country Stern is from has no measures or actions to show for itself, and instead it places the blame on China, which is actively taking measures and actions,' he said. 
His counterattack added to widespread criticism of US inaction both on curbing emissions at home and providing leadership in the international effort.   
However, Greenpeace campaigner Yang Ailun said  China had missed an opportunity to be more proactive in the talks despite its ambitious domestic emissions reduction effort and unusual confidence in hosting the gathering.



Climate talks end in blame game