4-nation meet starts in Delhi today
Environment ministers from four of the world's largest emerging economies meet in Delhi today ahead of the January 31 deadline to submit formal emission targets and climate change action plans.
The meeting includes ministers from the BASIC group of nations, which includes Brazil, South Africa, India and China.
These four countries brokered the draft version of the Copenhagen Accord with the US and they are considered key players for any future deal on climate change.
The meeting was convened following the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference, which agreed to continue negotiations regarding the Bali Action Plan and Kyoto Protocol for a further year.
A legally binding outcome may be reached during the sixteenth Conference of Parties (COP-16) in Mexico this December.
BASIC ministers will discuss ways of adopting a coordinated approach ahead of the deadline, as well as ensuring the interests of developing nations are protected.
While the United Nations and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat have requested nations to submit their plans for cutting greenhouse gas emissions, there has been silence on other aspects of the accord, particularly finance and green technology.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and Prime Minister of Denmark Ras Lock Rasmussen held discussions with a select group of countries in the Danish capital last December regarding the Copenhagen Accord.
However the discussions did not result in a legally binding treaty as they were noted rather than adopted by the fifteenth Conference of Parties (COP-15).
Earlier this month the UN secretary general and the Danish prime minister wrote a joint letter to heads of state and government to encourage all nations to follow the Copenhagen Accord.
The January 31 deadline is important for both developed and developing countries, as they have announced their domestic climate change mitigation measures.
However the deadline holds less relevance to developing nations, who are seeking financial assistance to adopt green technology and are reportedly concerned by efforts to make the treaty legally binding.
The Copenhagen Accord mentions the 30 billion dollar fast-track fund for the year 2010-12 and the mobilisation of 100 billion dollars as announced by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during the conference.
The main challenge of the Copenhagen Accord is to turn an agreement reached by 29 countries into one accepted by 194.
Cuba, Bolivia, Venezuela and Sudan opposed the Accord in Copenhagen, whilst Canada, Australia, the Maldives and Papua New Guinea have disclosed their intention to sign the Copenhagen Accord.
Carlos Minc, minister for environment of Brazil, Buyelwa Sonjica, minister of water and environmental affairs of South Africa and Xie Zhenhua, vice chairman, National Development & Reform Commission of China and Jairam Ramesh, India's environment minister are expected to participate in the meeting.
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