For the second consecutive day on Thursday,small island nations occupied centrestage at the climate negotiations pressing ahead with their demand for more ambitious emission cuts,even though their formal grouping the Alliance of Small Island Countries (AOSIS) played down a contentious proposal put forth by the tiny Pacific island country of Tuvalu on Wednesday. The AOSIS,which has 43 countries as members,said it would soon submit its own proposal for a Copenhagen agreement that would contain its longstanding demands to limit the growth of global temperature to within 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels and not 2 degrees that most developed and developing nations agree to and concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to a level of 350 parts per million instead of the 450ppm that is currently under consideration. To the relief of many in the G77 grouping,like India and China,AOSIS chairperson Dessima Williams sought to maintain a distinction from a proposal by Tuvalu,which incorporated the same objectives of 1.5 degree temperature rise and 350 ppm of CO2 concentration but wanted a separate treaty,like the Kyoto Protocol,to implement this. Tuvalu has brought an individual proposal. We support it in principle but we still have to study it a bit more, Williams said. The Tuvalu proposal had been opposed by India,China and many other countries and the meeting here had to be suspended for some time after Tuvalu insisted that its proposal be taken up for formal discussion. The opposition from India and China was being seen as a split in the G77 small island countries are members of G77 grouping as well and many developed countries,including the United States,were silently supporting the Tuvalu proposal. However,AOSIS made it clear that it would not allow any division in the G77 on this issue. It,however,said it was going to bring its own proposal in the next couple of days,which will harmonise the elements presented in Tuvalus proposal,and would be consistent with the Bali Action Plan. AOSIS claimed it had received the support of more than 100 countries the small island states and the least developed countries for more stringent emission cuts by the developed countries. We are negotiating our lives here. It is extremely essential and critical that we succeed in our efforts, said Collin Beck of the Solomon Islands,another of the small island states. Tuvalus proposal wants a separate treaty like the Kyoto Protocol to be created to accommodate those countries which are not part of the Kyoto Protocol,meaning the United States,and also those who voluntarily elect to do so can become a part of this new arrangement to take verifiable,nationally appropriate mitigation commitments or actions. India and China see this as complete deviation from the Bali Action plan and an attempt that would lead to the death of Kyoto Protocol. Many rich countries are uncomfortable with the Kyoto Protocol and this would just give them an opportunity to escape from their commitments in that treaty. But,additionally,countries like India and China are also worried that the target of 1.5 degree temperature rise and 350 ppm of CO2 concentrations can never be achieved without they too taking massive cuts in their greenhouse gas emissions.
