Careful optimism

The Delegation got briefed on the lastest developments of the negotiations by the Commission. The tone of the COP16 conference is careful optimism - the key word being balance. The Mexican presidency is doing everything they can to ensure an inclusive conference. However, discussions are fragile, and that today is critical. A new text on both tracks have been published, and the day has been spent analysing the text, and giving first feedback. 

Later today, the presidency had a meeting with different leaders to get a view on the different positions of each country. The discussion was constructive apart from Bolivia who walked out of the meeting. No other countries followed. The discussion centered on the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol and whether there will be a legally binding agreement in the future or not. 

Countries are listening and beginning to state their positions. The key countries to watch in the next 24 hours are China, Japan, US, Russia and South Africa . But it is still early days...

Photo credit: European Parliament