1st Ld-Writethru: China Focus: BASIC countries make "important contribution" to Paris Agreement

The BASIC countries, including Brazil, South Africa, India and China, have made "important contributions" to the Paris Agreement, China's chief climate negotiator said Tuesday.

The cooperative mechanism of BASIC countries, established in 2009, has made "important contributions to the successful signing of the Paris Agreement and its early implementation," said Xie Zhenhua, Special Representative for Climate Change of China, at a press conference at the close of the two-day 24th BASIC Ministerial Meeting on Climate Change held in Beijing.

The meeting was hosted by Xie and attended by relevant officials from India, Brazil and South Africa. Representatives from Ecuador, Fiji and Egypt were also invited to attend the meeting.

Xie commended the role of BASIC in strengthening "internal communications" within the Group of 77, and in gaining support from developing countries.

A joint statement was issued at the close of the meeting, focusing on follow-up negotiations following the signing of the Paris Agreement, pragmatic cooperation and ways to intensify action before 2020, according to Xie.

The attendees reiterated the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities" in mitigation actions of developed and developing countries.

They agreed that the Paris Agreement was a hard-earned achievement in the global campaign in climate-governance, which has ushered in a new stage of global endeavors in seeking green and low-carbon development.

Xie said that China, as a responsible developing country, will continue to take efforts to deal with climate change and be resolute in fulfilling its responsibilities.

The BASIC countries are helping developing countries in improving global climate change responses through channels including South-South cooperation, Xie said.

They also urged developed countries to scale up their level of financial support to meet their goal of jointly providing 100 billion U.S. dollars per year by 2020.

It is estimated that the world should invest 1.5 trillion U.S. dollars per year on renewable energy and new energy in order to meet respective goals on climate change by 2030, Xie said.

By then, infrastructure investment alone shall reach 90 trillion dollars, bringing huge opportunities to world green and low-carbon industries, Xie added.

The attendees also agreed to further strengthen the cooperation and solidarity among the BASIC countries and also emphasized international cooperation in enhancing global actions. Endi