NGO hands out fossil ‘awards’ to countries obstructing climate change policy

With pressure to keep the Kyoto Protocol on track for ratification in 2002, Climate Action Network has awarded 'fossils' to the most obstructive countries attending the recent Kyoto meeting in Bonn.


During the fifth meeting of the Contracting Parties of the Kyoto Protocol (COP 5), Climate Action Network has been assessing which countries have contributed the least to movement on climate change policy and that have, in fact, obstructed progress. A ‘Fossil of the Day’ prize was awarded each day and it was soon apparent that Saudi Arabia, worried that the Kyoto protocol will hurt the oil-producing country’s economy, would win the overall ‘Fossil’ prize.
According to Climate Change Network, Saudi Arabia has been “publicly recognised for making the greatest political contribution to the destruction of the planet”. The US is overall Fossil runner-up.

Examples of reasons for countries being awarded individual ‘fossils’ include: Turkey, “for trying to sneak out of Annex 1 (industrialised nations) and being treated as a developing country in this respect (while at the same time trying to enter the EU)”; and the US “for excluding anybody except a handpicked few from a briefing on their ‘domestic action'”.

The UK was deemed worthy of a ‘fossil’ for “blocking the EU from taking a common position against nuclear power in the Clean Development Mechanism”. Nigeria was given one “for blocking any progress in the contact group on compliance and sending not a government official but a state oil company representative to that meeting”.

Saudi Arabia was issued with fossil after fossil for “refusing to allow the process to go forward towards agreement on any word in any proposal or draft decision”.

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