U.S. looks for a ‘critical mass’ climate deal

There is absolutely nothing new in U.S. exasperation with the United Nations and its overblown processes. This statement from the deputy U.S. climate envoy recalls the responses of thousands of technocrats exposed for the first time to the diplomatic morass; for decades, we've heard something similar from every new Administration.

"Pershing said the flaws in the UN process, which demands consensus among the international community, were exposed at Copenhagen. 'The meeting itself was at best chaotic,' he said, in a talk at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. 'We met mostly overnight. It seemed like we didn't sleep for two weeks. It seemed a funny way to do things, and it showed.'" Extract from UN should be sidelined in future climate talks, says Obama official | The Guardian

What is new is that the so-called BASIC countries—giant, rapidly growing but poor economies—have become the necessary interlocutors of the USA and, perforce, for Europe, Japan and the rest of the twenty-something countries that have committed to sign the 'pledge' on emissions cuts by 31 January this year.

Pershing goes on to say that he's looking for a 'critical mass' alternative:

"[He] indicated the focus would be narrower in scope than the UN's all-inclusive approach. "We expect there will be significant actions recorded by major countries," he said. "We are not really worried what Chad does. We are not really worried about what Haiti says it is going to do about greenhouse gas emissions. "

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