Cancún 2010: BRICs Lead the Way

The Cancún climate summit is demonstrating every day just how much and how quickly the power dynamic in the world is moving from one of European and American preeminence to a world where countries like China, India and Brazil will shape the future course of global negotiations.   The most important countries by far in terms of shaping the Cancún talks have been the BASIC countries – Brazil, South Africa, India, and China, as well as the host nation, Mexico. When the annual UN climate change summit opened, the overall goals were very different from the previous year's summit in Copenhagen, and this was driven by China above all.  At this year’s talks, delegates have been working on more limited deals, such as establishing a proposed fund to help poor countries adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change, rather than a comprehensive treaty.  Brazil, India, and China have been driving the negotiations on a host of issues, and depending on the issue, Russia and South Africa have also been influential, though have different interests, so both the BRIC and BASIC blocs have been influential.  However, the talks have also served to preserve the viability of maintaining global talks in the future, an outcome that was in doubt for much of 2010.  In today’s GR Energy and Climate Brief, Garten Rothkopf assesses the developments at Cancún thus far, and what the consequences of the summit might be for future climate negotiations.

Developed Countries as Spoilers?

One key way in which Cancún differs from Copenhagen is the roster of countries most invested in a positive outcome.  At Copenhagen, negotiations came down to a standoff between the US, pushing for an agreement in which the largest emitting developing countries would observe some sort of binding commitment, and the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, and China), which opposed any such commitment without more stringent emissions reduction targets for developed countries and financial assistance for developing countries to assist with addressing climate change. 

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