Makereta Komai, PACNEWS, Climate Pasifika
Copenhagen, 15 December - Open ended informal consultations continues Tuesday as the president of the Conference of the Parties (COP15), Connie Hedegraard comes under intense pressure to find political solutions to a number of ‘sticking’ points of the negotiations.
On Monday, Ms Hedegaard appointed five groups, chaired and facilitated by ministers to discuss among other things developed countries targets under Kyoto Protocol, long term financing for adaptation and mitigation, long term emission reduction goal, developing country mitigation efforts and other issues arising from mitigation policies, international aviation and marine bunker fuels.
“Ministers are now working, knowing full well that time is limited. The next 48 hours is crucial, if we are to be successful here, said Ms Hedegaard.
UNFCCC executive secretary, Yvo de Boer said while some progress has been made, there needs to be more engagement from developing countries.
“We’ve now reached a very distinct and important moment in the negotiation. Ministers now have 48 hours to inform their Heads of States of whether an agreement can be signed here in Copenhagen, said Mr de Boer.
Both Hedegaard and de Boer defended the political process now in place to try and find an amicable solution to the negotiations, which have been stalled by ‘processes’ within the Kyoto Protocol.
“We’ve had a transparent, open and inclusive informal discussions. This is a UN conference and every member has to everything before we can proceed on anything. We cannot dictate anything."
“There is no conspiracy. We have nothing to hide", defended Ms Hedegaard.
She admits however that there are still some obstacles but ministers are working their way through these sensitive issues.
“We still need to progress on longer term financing and a governance structure. We are still not there with commitments, said Ms Hedegaard.
The informal high level segment starts Tuesday evening and continues into Wednesday and Thursday. All 193 members of UNFCCC are expected to make country statements during the two days High Level Segment
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