Rich countries are "posturing" and there is a risk that they will follow the United States in proposing a low reduction on emissions of greenhouse gases, Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim said on Thursday during the radio program Bom Dia, Ministro.

"The challenge is to ensure that other developed countries do not piggyback on this US position. If Brazil does whatever is necessary, but rich countries continue to pollute, the Amazon will end," warned Amorim.

Amorim sees the US proposal as insufficient to meet the challenges of climate change. The United States said it was committed to a 17-percent emission reduction up to 2020.

"I do not want to be the conscience of the world, I think the United States took a step because (previously) they were in a state of denial, but it is a small step. They want to be treated as a developing country. The world may accept this for some time, but it is still a very slow progress in relation to what is necessary," he said.

The minister said it must be demanded that rich countries commit to targets compatible with existing pollution in the atmosphere, so they should adopt emissions reduction by at least 30 percent, a "minimally reasonable" level.

On the funding earmarked for poor countries to meet climate targets, Amorim said Brazil also wants to receive funds based on its proposal to reduce Amazon deforestation by 80 percent until 2020.

He stressed that the Brazilian goal is in practice more than the target proposed by the US government under President Barack Obama.

"Brazil wants to have an environmentally sound economy, it is a requirement of the population," said Amorim.

The Brazilian foreign minister said that although he is optimistic about a global agreement to be reached at the end of the Copenhagen Summit, there are still areas that require further progress.

(Xinhua News Agency December 11, 2009)