Copenhagen talks in limbo

The Copenhagen talks are stalled after the G77 and China walked out of all negotiations late this morning. The move is an apparent protest against bad faith and intransigence on the part of industrialised countries who have yet to make any firm commitments for new emissions cuts.

Word of the walkout came while a Contact Group on setting targets for Kyoto countries was in session. Australia had been calling for a suspension of that meeting on the basis that further work was impossible without knowing the results of informal Ministerial discussions being conducted elsewhere. Developing countries had been resisting the move. However, after the walkout was announced, the Chair of the Contact Group immediately granted the request to suspend.

Because both disruptions are related, and because they happened at roughly the same time, there is considerable confusion among observers at the Bella Centre.

Some reports suggest that the G77 + China walkout was spearheaded by African countries.

Watch this space for further updates during the course of the afternoon.