Post date: Nov 29, 2010 8:37:15 PM
Two-week U.N. climate talks start in Cancun with organisers and nations hoping to establish concrete steps to combat climate change.
CANCUN, QUINTANA ROO, MEXICO (NOVEMBER 29, 2010) UNFCCC POOL - A new round of U.N. climate talks opened on Monday (November 29) with almost 200 nations meeting in Mexico in hopes of clinching an agreement on a narrow range of crunch issues dividing rich and emerging economies.
The two-week conference at the beach resort of Cancun aims to agree on funds and approaches to preserve
rain forests and prepare for a hotter world. It will also seek to formalize existing targets to curb greenhouse gas emissions."I urge you to reach agreement on concrete steps, to move as closer to an international regime that formalizes the commitments that many nations have already made and that incorporates as well strong support for adaptation to climate change impacts. I also urge you to outline in some detail the steps that are required to reach a definitive agreement within the next few years," said Nobel Prize-Winning Scientist Mario Molina said during the inauguration ceremony.
Fanfare is far below levels of last year's Copenhagen summit which aimed to agree a new climate deal but ended instead with a non-binding agreement rejected by a clutch of developing countries.
The long-running U.N. talks have pitted against each other the world's top two emitters, the United States and China, with U.S. demands for greater Chinese emissions curbs echoing similar pressure on free trade and human rights.
Rajendra Pachauri, the head of UN climate scientists, said he expected the outcome of talks to be successful, aiming to end the distrust of the previous summit.
"We hope Cancun signifies a major step in action to deal with the challenge of climate change. The available scientific knowledge of this filed justifies it and the global community rightly expects it. Thank you very much."
UNFCCC Executive Secretary, Christiana Figueres, said compromise was needed in order to seek a concrete outcome during these talks.
"Excellencies, when the stakes are high and the issues are challenging, compromise is an active wisdom that can unite different positions in creative ways. Looking at what you have achieved over the past months I am convinced that you can compromise to find your way to a concrete outcome in Cancun. That outcome needs to be both firm and dependable and have a dedicated follow-on process for future work."
Mexican President Felipe Calderon said it was possible to achieve sustainable development and reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the same time.
"Because it's perfectly possible to achieve sustainable development and at the same time fight poverty. It is perfectly possible to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases and at the same time not only sustain economic growth but also find new ways of productivity and of growth and of job creation in green growth and development and in sustainable development."
Mexican Foreign Minister And COP16 President, Patricia Espinosa, said the importance of the talks was to consolidate individual interests and unite efforts.
"Climate change has a very high costs for my country Mexico. Like many of your countries it is highly vulnerable to the effects of this phenomenon. The key to the success of these negotiations is to consolidate the legitimate individual interests and unite efforts in order to leave an important collective mark. It means that all countries should have access to sustained development that benefits our generation and those that follow."
The main aim of the talks is to agree a tougher climate deal to succeed the Kyoto Protocol, whose present round ends in 2012, to step up action to fight warming.
World temperatures could soar by 4 degrees Celsius (7.2F) by the 2060s in the worst case of climate change and require annual investment of $270 billion just to contain rising sea levels, studies suggested on Sunday.