Environment activists label United States "real bad guy"

       The two-week Bangkok climate change talks wrap up today amid growing frustration among developing countries and civil groups over the US's alleged bid to "murder" the Kyoto Protocol.
       Developing countries, led by China, and activists said the US-led rich nations were seeking to terminate the Kyoto pact and establish a new agreement that would force developing countries to cut emissions.
       Developing countries support the continuation of the pact, which provides legally binding obligations for industrialised countries to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 5.2% below 1990 levels.
       Activists yesterday branded the US a "real bad guy" and urged the Barack Obama administration to stop sabotaging the Kyoto Protocol.
       "It's OK if they [the US] want to commit to their domestic action [on carbon emissions], but it's unacceptable for them to derail climate negotiations," said Kingkorn Narindharakul, of the Thai Working Group for Climate Justice.
       She called on the Group of 77 and China, the alliance of developing countries, to issue a statement to condemn the effort to terminate the Kyoto Protocol.
       Martin Khor, executive director of the South Centre, which is an ally of the G77 and China, said the US should make comparable efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
       To break the current deadlock on the future of the Kyoto Protocol, Mr Khor proposed the engineering of a special legally binding agreement for the US, which is the world's biggest greenhouse gas emitter after China.
       Alfred Wills, coordinator of G77 plus China for Kyoto Protocol, said industrialised countries need to take leadership of the protocol's commitment.
       "Our main concern is that the rich [countries] have avoided to go to ambitious greenhouse gas emission targets for the second commitment period [of the Kyoto agreement]," he said.
       Commenting on the progress of the Bangkok talks and debate over the future of the Kyoto agreement, UN climate chief Yvo de Boer said it was very difficult for negotiators to continue their work unless there was strong will from industrialised countries to meet emission targets.
       "Don't throw away your old shoes before you have new ones," he said.
       The European Commission, meanwhile, said the Kyoto Protocol was suffering not only from the US not ratifying it but also from large-sized developing countries not signing up to any discipline.
       "The Kyoto Protocol has failed - we haven't seen many countries coming forward as we speak," said Karl Falkenberg, the European Commission's director-general for environment. "We need to see the US government take comparable effort, and other industrialised countries such as Japan and Australia to commit.
       "But we also need other large developing countries such as India and China not to just go on with business as usual. The challenge is out there and we think that requires a new legal framework."