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Global climate change talks in Durban got off to a rocky start, with developed and developing countries holding diverging positions, indicating tough negotiations ahead.

The fate of the Kyoto Protocol, the sole international agreement that obligates industrialized countries to slash carbon emissions, remains the essential issue of the summit.

Developing countries are calling for an extension of the first commitment period which expires in December 2012.

"It is hardly conceivable that a country would leave the Kyoto Protocol to do more," said Su Wei, China's top climate change negotiator.

He reiterated that the Kyoto Protocol is the cornerstone of the climate regime and its secondcommitment period is the essential priority for the success of the Durban conference.

The Durban conference should clearly establish the second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol where developed countries shall undertake quantified emission reduction commitments, he said.

Ambassador Silvia Merega of Argentina said, on behalf of the Group of 77 developing countries and China, that the bar for negotiations in Durban cannot be lowered.

"Durban should not be the burial ground for the Kyoto Protocol, rather, it should be the birthplace of the second commitment period."

"It must be preserved and strengthened if we are to ensure any meaningful multilateral response to the issue of climate change," she said.

Christiana Figueres, the UN's top climate official, said an extension of Kyoto targets is linked to pledges that developing countries must make to join the fight against climate change.

The Canadian government was reported to be planning to pull out of the Kyoto Protocol afterthe Durban conference, indicating that it will not commit to new targets after its first commitment period expires in 2012.

Questions:

1. When does the first commitment period for the Kyoto Protocol expire?

2. What is the main goal of the Durban conference?

3. What has it been reported that the Canadian government will do?

Answers:

1. December 2012.

2. To establish the second commitment period.

3. Pull out of the Kyoto Protocol after the Durban conference.

（中国日报网英语点津 Rosy 编辑）

About the broadcaster:

Emily Cheng is an editor at China Daily. She was born in Sydney, Australia and graduated from the University of Sydney with a degree in Media, English Literature and Politics. She has worked in the media industry since starting university and this is the third time she has settled abroad - she interned with a magazine in Hong Kong 2007 and studied at the University of Leeds in 2009.