C'wealth leaders thrash out climate declaration
Commonwealth leaders were thrashing out a declaration on climate change yesterday but Pakistan was still looming large on their summit agenda with the appointment of an Indian as secretary general.
The 53-nation federation of mostly former British colonies comprises some of the world's biggest emitters of greenhouse gases such as Britain, India and Australia.
But some members are also very much in the front line of climate change's effects such as the Maldives and Kiribati, a Pacific island group in acute danger of being washed away by rising sea levels.
The summit in the Ugandan capital Kampala comes shortly ahead of next month's crucial climate change talks in Bali where nations will be discussing a successor to the Kyoto Protocol on lowering harmful emissions.
The Commonwealth's outgoing chairman Lawrence Gonzi called Friday for leaders to send a strong message of support to Bali and said that greenhouse gas emissions must be at least halved from 1990 levels by 2050.
But some Commonwealth leaders were likely to be opposed to a declaration calling for binding targets that do not include all countries and in particular economic powerhouse China.
Commonwealth member Australia has not ratified Kyoto but with an election taking place -- set to result in a change of government -- no minister was present to represent the country in Uganda.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper's office said in a message to Commonwealth leaders that he wanted a declaration that made clear that all countries must take part in any cuts.
"We would not support a binding target only for some emitters, especially if that excludes major emitters," Harper's statement said.
Britain's Prince Charles, attending his first overseas Commonwealth summit along with his mother Queen Elizabeth II, did his best to ensure that climate change was centre stage, saying it was "the greatest challenge facing mankind."
The Commonwealth's newly appointed secretary general in waiting, Kamalesh Sharma, was upbeat about the talks in a retreat on the shores of Lake Victoria.
"Climate change is one of those areas where we are beginning to push the envelope. This particular CHOGM (Commonwealth summit) will certainly be recognised as having come out with a roadmap and a declaration," he said.
Saturday's appointment of Sharma, an Indian, made sure however that Pakistan was still a talking point in Kampala two days after Commonwealth foreign ministers suspended it.
Sharma deflected questions on Pakistan, saying that the Commonwealth's relations with Islamabad were McKinnon's responsibility until he took up his post on April 1.
"Between now and that time there are four months to go ... In any event we have a working mechanism and it is for his (McKinnon's) team or for himself to make observations on issues of this nature," he told a news conference.
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