U.S., Russia, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait Block Endorsement of Global Warming Study

The first week of talks at the UN climate summit ended on a sour note.


A diplomatic standoff over a single word could set the stage for a bigger showdown during the second half of this year’s U.N. climate summit.

Negotiators took time out Sunday to rest after the first week of talks ended on a sour note the previous night, when the United States sided with Russia, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait in blocking endorsement of a landmark study on global warming.

“I think it was a key moment,” said Alden Meyer of the Union of Concerned Scientists. “The fact that a group of four countries were trying to diminish the value and importance of a scientific report they themselves, with all other countries, requested three years ago in Paris is pretty remarkable.”

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s special report on what would happen if average global temperatures rise by 1.5 Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit), and how to ensure they don’t go higher, was widely regarded as a wake-up call for policy-makers when it was released in October .

As diplomats wrapped up a week of technical talks Saturday, almost all 200 countries present in Katowice, Poland, had wanted to “welcome” the IPCC report, making it the benchmark for future action.

But the U.S. and three other delegations objected.

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