MEDIA REACTION: COPENHAGEN CLIMATE CHANGE SUMMIT

UNCLAS SAO PAULO 000736 SIPDIS STATE INR/R/MR IIP/R/MR WHA/PD STATE PASS USTR USDOC 4322/MAC/OLAC/JAFEE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OIIP XM OPRC XR KMDR BR SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: COPENHAGEN CLIMATE CHANGE SUMMIT "Fiasco in Copenhagen" Editorial in center-right O Estado de S. Paulo (12-21) states: "....The Copenhagen summit was nothing more than loss of time.....The fiasco of the Copenhagen summit was greater than expected. The failure was due, in large part, to a problem of organization.....the overcrowding disrupted the workings of the conference and ended in a confrontation between credentialed people blocked at the entrance of the summit and the police....In addition, the possibility of a consensus between 192 countries is always remote.....Even more importantly, there wasn't a solid technical document on which politicians could base their decisions.....Copenhagen was a chain of mistakes that needs to be avoided in the future. The environmental threat is too serious to be treated by amateurs." "Indefinite Climate" Editorial in liberal Folha de S. Paulo (12-20) says: "....We did not see significant progress [in targets for cutting emissions and providing financing and technology for poor countries at the Copenhagen summit].....In practice, Copenhagen almost ended in the total collapse of the U.N. system for dealing with climate change.....It had a few positive developments such as the return of the U.S. to negotiations..... Another new development was the European Union losing importance in the negotiations and the rise of India, Brazil and South Africa...." White