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Cancun, Mexico (AFP) Dec 3, 2010 UN climate talks in Cancun ran into a fresh problem on Friday as a group of leftwing Latin American countries said a global deal had to be linked to a fresh round of commitments to the carbon-cutting Kyoto Protocol. "If there is no second period of commitment, it would be very difficult to have a balanced package in this negotiations," said Venezuelan negotiator Claudia Salerno. The so-called ALBA group, which comprises Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Dominica, issued the warning on the fifth day of talks taking place under the UN flag. The 194-party talks have until December 10 to unblock an agreement for tackling climate change beyond 2012, when the Kyoto Protocol's present roster of commitments expire. The Protocol is hugely supported by developing countries and has been championed by the European Union (EU). But it has been rejected by the United States, and it does not include China, a developing country, in targeted emissions cuts, which only apply to rich-nation signatories. As a result, the present roster of emissions pledges covers only 30 percent of the global output of heat-trapping greenhouse gases. Japan on Monday said it would not support a second commitment period beyond 2012 because it made "no sense" without a wider application. Canada and Russia are also reluctant to sign up for an extension, say delegates. "When you find that on the other side of the table they say they want to go to the beach because they say there's nothing to do and they're just wasting their time then we in the ALBA group will not allow an action where these countries get away with this and make no commitment," Salerno said. Scientists say unbridled burning of fossil fuels has brought concentrations of carbon dioxide, a colorless, odorless and tasteless "greenhouse" gas, to record concentrations. Without urgent action to stem these emissions, the world is on track for worsening drought, floods, storms and rising seas, spelling a threat for hundreds of millions of people, they warn.
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