MADRID: The United States was accused Wednesday of using crunch UN talks to avoid compensating poorer nations hit by climate change, despite its decision to leave the process to limit global warming.
A document said to be circulated by US negotiators to delegation heads, seen by AFP, proposes to transpose a key provision under the 2015 Paris agreement - from which the United States is withdrawing - and apply it to the wider COP process, where the US will maintain a seat at the table. Delegates representing developing countries said the US proposal was"unimaginable" and vowed to block it.
The US move is also designed to leave an open access for Washington to the UN executive committee that decides on loss and damage funding, several sources noted."The Trump administration is now making a cynical and paranoid play to further distance itself from responsibility for the harmful impacts of climate change and to further protect itself and other polluters from liability for the crisis," said Harjeet Singh, global climate lead at ActionAid.