EU and Japan in climate talks rift

The European Union accused Japan, on 9 November 2001, of reneging on previous climate change negotiations by insisting on a decision now on whether the Kyoto Protocol should have legally binding sanctions. At the 7th Conference of the Parties on the Convention on Climate Change in Marrakesh (29 October - 9 November 2001), Japan was singled out by EU officials as being the main obstacle to a compromise agreement. The decision by the United States to drop out of the Kyoto Protocol has made Japan and Russia crucial to ratification.