Far from narrowing the differences between the developed and developing countries over the mechanism to meet the targets set in the Kyoto protocol on cutting down emission of harmful gases, the fifth round of negotiations on climate change that concluded in Bonn recently has actually widened the chasm. The meeting in fact witnessed a hardening of stands of both sides. While the rich countries continued to insist on using market mechanisms such as emission trading and the clean development mechanism based on new technology, the developing nations had grave reservations, fearing an adverse impact on their development prospects. Attention got so concentrated on the commercial aspects of the means of achieving a clean environment that the end objective was lost sight of.
Hammered out at the last minute, the 1997 Kyoto protocol essentially commits the developed countries to cutting greenhouse gas emissions
