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China says content, not form, key to climate pact

China will rate the success of the Copenhagen climate summit by the actual content of any deal reached, a top negotiator said on Wednesday, in Beijing’s first hint it accepts there will not be a legally binding pact.

Yu QingtaiYu Qingtai, the country’s climate change ambassador, blamed developed nations for the slow progress of two years of talks, a delay that has effectively put Copenhagen’s original goal — of completing a new framework to fight warming — out of reach.

The Danish government, host of the December talks, has proposed that the world delay a final legal agreement until 2010 and instead aim to reach a comprehensive political deal.

“As for what success can be expected from Copenhagen, many sides including the host country Denmark, have made proposals,” Yu said, when asked about the plan.

“We think that the actual content of whatever is achieved is more important than the title of the document that is produced,” Yu said. China had previously said only that it was “studying” the Danish proposal.

Yu’s comments suggested China would accept a political deal, but his strong denunciation of broken promises and selfish behaviour by developed countries was a reminder of the obstacles to tying up a deal in the few weeks before a Dec. 18 deadline.

Talks have been hobbled by a rift between rich and poorer nations over who should cut emissions, by how much, and who should pay for it.

“In the last two years, we have wasted a lot of time on marginal issues, technical issues, we haven’t focused on the core questions in the negotiations,” Yu said.

“Why have we spent two years talking without making enough progress? I personally think it is because developed countries have not sat down to the negotiations in good faith. This is not just my view, it is the wider consensus of developing nations.

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