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REVIEW OF ADEQUACY OF COMMITMENTS

The discussion on this issue was more positive than expected after INC-10 where the debate was more negatively charged. The fact that no substantive discussion was undertaken on the AOSIS protocol limited the debate on the adequacy of commitments. Even though developed countries agreed that current commitments were inadequate, they chose not to push the terms of the debate further. Again, developing countries interpreted any attempts to consider new commitments as a possible move to impose new responsibilities on them, and argued that Annex I Parties must first meet their current obligations. At INC-11 it appeared as if both developed and developing countries resisted the temptation to engage in substantive discussions on the adequacy of commitments, preferring to go along with compromise language, at least until COP-1. The last week of the INC demonstrated that entrenched positions resulted in arduous negotiations with little movement from either side.