From the beginning, they failed to push the climate change debate into a strong framework of global negotiations. Such a framework, with clearly stated developing country goals, would have given them a more systematic and consistent approach to the negotiating process. Both at the Rio Earth Summit and now, the only practical framework to fall back on has been the North-South dialogue. These positions are weak and extremely watered down because of the lack of a clear objective or 'stated gain structure' by Africans and their colleagues in G-77 and China. This, in turn, stems from the lack of a negotiating framework.
Industrialized countries have a specific objective.
Their message is clear, and this is another reason for loss of direction in global climate change effort. These wishes strongly correlate with the push to force developing countries to make commitments to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions. If the South does this, it will become a much stronger market for mitigation technologies, which are overwhelmingly supplied by industrialized countries. Industrialized countries would thus ensure that the developing countries were compelled to harness a much broader range of cleaner technologies than they would under voluntary mechanisms. Under these arrangements, industrialized countries would not logically be required to facilitate developing countries' access to technology.