G77 and China stalls talks, send strong political message to developed countries

14 June 2012, Rio de Janeiro - The G77 and China agreed to stall talks for a few hours Thursday to send a political message to developed countries, especially the United States and the European Union (EU) that it is serious about issues of implementation.

The three major means of implementation (MOI) covered in the draft text currently negotiated here in Rio de Janeiro include finance, capacity building and technology.

Members of the influential G77 and China group agreed to ask its lead negotiator on the issue of implementation not to move on the negotiations until the United States, EU, Canada, Japan and South Korea agree to their demands to meet their 0.7 percent Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) commitment to developing countries by 2015.

Developed countries, during the course of the negotiations have attempted to delete ODA commitments to the developing countries.

According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), of the 17 countries, only five have reached their ODA target by 2011. These are Sweden, Norway, Luxembourg, Denmark and Netherlands.

India led the charge in criticising developed countries for not showing leadership in the negotiations – putting nothing on the table to show that it was willing to provide technology and finances to fund global initiatives to reduce poverty.

However, Pakistan, the co-ordinator of the G77 and China group on means of implementation reported to the group meeting that whilst there is only an 'inch' movement in technology transfer, there is no commitment at all on finance.

"We are running into a major challenge here and we only have a day to come up with an agreed text. However, since we are not seeing any movement at all, we may need to send a strong message for a few hours to show we are serious about issues of implementation," said the Pakistani negotiator on behalf of the group.

The group however is in difficult position, as Brazil, the hosts of the Rio de Janeiro conference is one of its powerful and influential member.

As a compromise, Brazil has offered to mediate between the group and the chair of the working group on Implementation to allow for a resolution on the sticky points identified by the G77 and China.

This effort was supported by Argentina who urged all parties for understanding to move the issues forward 'and not hold the meeting hostage.'

Speaking to journalists, Brazilian Ambassador Luiz Alberto Figueiredo admits an agreement on means of implementation will be one of the "crucial issues" at Rio+20 Conference.

The Group of 77 and China is proposing the creation of a new global fund for sustainable development with an initial US$ 30 billion a year budget.

"This proposal has considerable backing and, therefore, it's part of the current negotiations," Ambassador Figueiredo said.

Speaking on the structure of the PrepCom talks, Secretary General of the Rio+20 conference, Sha Zukang said the talks were divided into two working groups dealing with different parts of the draft outcome text in order to speed up negotiations.

In his view, the most challenging issues are defining a framework for action towards sustainable development, finance, capacity building and technology transfer.

"We have now started the final stretch in the marathon negotiation process. Delegates will clear brackets and fine tune the text before the official Conference starts next week," he said.

"We are negotiating a focused political outcome. This outcome, as has been repeatedly emphasized, should be action oriented, said Zukang.

He urged for good sense and 'flexibility.'

"For that, we must drastically accelerate the pace. We only have three days of negotiations... three make-it or break-it days.

"A big responsibility is on our shoulders. The whole world is watching. We simply cannot afford to falter.

"This planet is our most profound common denominator. Simply put, its health and well-being unite us and remind us that ultimately, what benefits you, benefits me and what benefits me, benefits you."

The PrepCom meeting ends Friday afternoon with the draft text themed 'The Future we want' ready for the High Level meeting next week.