Climate compensation row at Doha

US representative Jonathan Pershing had been discussing plans to compensate poor nations for losses due to damage from climate change. But AOSIS spokesman Ronald Jumeau condemned wealthy countries for their lack of urgency. The UN talks are into their second week in the Qatari capital.
 
Mr Jumeau said that there would be no need for talk about compensation if the rich had cut their emissions in previous meetings.
 
"The Doha caravan seems to be lost in the sand," he told a joint news conference. "As far as ambition is concerned, we are lost. We’re past the mitigation (emissions cuts) and adaptation eras. We’re now right into the era of loss and damage. What’s next after that? Destruction? Disappearance of some of our islands?
 
"We’re already into the era of re-location. But after loss and damage there will be mass re-locations if we continue with this loss of ambition."
 
The issue of compensation for climate losses looks set to become a major focus for negotiations at the conference. The task of the meeting is to wind up negotiations under talks associated with the existing Kyoto Protocol on cutting emissions of greenhouse gases, and move towards a new treaty in 2015 binding all nations, rich and poor in tackling climate change.