Climate-Change Talks Resume

Countries are rolling up their sleeves and starting to hammer out a new climate-change treaty during a round of talks that runs on June 1–12 in Bonn, Germany. Although this is the second round of formal discussions on the accord, Yvo de Boer, the United Nations' top official on climate change, says, "It's the first time real negotiating text will be on the table." The 53-page draft text, released in May, is the basis of the discussions in Bonn. The draft calls for lowering global greenhouse gas emissions and for establishing deadlines, but it doesn't yet include any agreed-on country-specific emission requirements. The accord is expected to include emission control goals for both industrialized and developing countries. To this end, commitments by industrialized nations to provide clean-energy technology and funding for climate-change adaptation to the developing world are seen as essential to get countries with rapidly increasing emissions, such as China and India, involved in the treaty. Negotiators are scheduled to have a third round of talks this fall before finishing work on the new accord in December at a meeting in Copenhagen.