US criticizes hosts of climate talks, Qatar for sloppy arrangements

DOHA: The hosts Qatar have come in from criticism from the US chief negotiator for badly organizing the negotiations. Speaking in a closed door meeting US chief negotiator Jonathan Pershing criticized the Qatar government for the way it plans to hold discussions with the ministers of 194 countries arriving at Doha starting this weekend.

Qatar as host of the meeting is also presides over the negotiations and is therefore expected to guide the talks to a successful conclusion at the end of the two week period. But Pershing singled out the hosts for sloppy planning.

He told a group of international NGOs in a briefing that was not to be reported or recorded, "We are worried frankly about the Qatari vision of a 5 hour session which deals with everything because it may not grapple very well with anything."

He was referring to the special ministerial round organized by the Qatari presidency to hold high level talks on the shape of the future global climate regime – called the Durban Platform.

" You take a 5 hour segment and divide the number of countries that have to speak and they all got to speak once they all get 2 -2.5 minutes," he said.

The uncharitable statement from Pershing went on with him saying, "It's not like they have much of a chance to have an engaged conversation under a structure like this. We could find a different way for our politicians to begin to really grapple with and focus on these things."

Pershing was giving the invited NGOs the US perspective on the on-going Doha talks when he criticized the hosts.

He asked the meeting be kept off the record but TOI accessed a recoding made by an attendee clandestinely.