Didcot Power Station

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When Yvo de Boer, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, told participants at a climate change meeting in Bali this week that the countries of the world "are on a first date here", he didn’t realise that his joke would come back to haunt him.Several delegates and NGO lobbyists have criticised his quip, suggesting that it betrayed a misunderstanding of the state of the negotiations – and of developing country interests.In the latest criticism, Mathias Dube, the Europe director of the Climate Action Network (CAN), retorted, "These parties have been dating for 15 years [when negotiations began on the Kyoto Protocol on climate change]."It may seem a storm in a conference teacup, but Dube and others who have picked up on de Boer’s remark are worried that it reflects an attempt to cover up industrialised countries’ failure to fulfil their obligations under the existing climate agreement while simultaneously trying to impose obligations on developing countries.

"Obligations so far have not been met", Mena Raman, chair of Friends of the Earth India, said yesterday, "so how can you expect more from developing countries?

"This has been the test of the last two days [since the Bali conference started]."

She cited the example of technology transfer, which was a critical issue if developing countries were to be helped onto a carbon-free energy path. Yet, she said, industrialised countries in the Bali talks were resisting even the establishment of a technology "contact group", which prepares a subject for ministerial level discussion.

"If technology is a key issue, why is there a reluctance to go even to a contact group?" she asked, pointing out that an "experts group" had been discussing the issue for two years – "now it’s time to walk the walk."

She said that China and India’s negotiating line with industrialised countries was that "If you want us to move forward on helping curb climate change, you must move on technology transfer."

China and India had real fears that the North was not serious about negotiating, she said, and that industrialised countries' real aim was for developing countries to commit themselves to making cuts in carbon emissions.