Brazilian Envoy at Copenhagen Talks: Voluntary Efforts by Developing Nations Not Subject to Int'l Scrutiny
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Brazil's top negotiator at the UN climate talks said on Thursday that developing countries have presented ambitious emissions reduction targets and their voluntary national actions should not be subject to international scrutiny.
Sergio Barbosa Serra, Brazilian ambassador for climate change, said in an interview with Xinhua that developing countries including Brazil and China have been engaged in many related actions to realize these targets.
"They have nothing to be ashamed of and are different from developed countries which have not put any numbers on the table," Serra said.
Developing countries are committed to having the negotiations concluded on the dual-track negotiation mechanism and hope to see in the next two days a satisfactory result from the talks, he said.
"I don't think 110 leaders come here to be witnesses of failure. Political bargaining will achieve the results," he added, expressing hope that the issue could be resolved by Friday.
The envoy said that according to the Bali Road Map, mitigation actions taken by developing countries would be "subject to measurement, verification and reporting only if" they get technology and financial support from developed countries.
"We are really concerned over the push by developed countries on having actions that we do with our own efforts and financial resources being verified, " he said.
Earlier in the day, the United States said that it was prepared to join other rich countries in raising US$100 billion annually by 2020 to help developing nations combat climate change.
But it set a condition that emerging countries including China should accept international monitoring on its mitigation actions, as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for "transparency" in the mitigation efforts by developing countries.
In that regard, Serra said "All countries including the non-Annex 1 countries have national communications which will be used to present actions transparently for all to see."
Negotiators from more than 190 countries are running against time to wrap up their 12-day talks, hoping to seal a deal to move forward the global fight against climate change before world leaders meet Friday.
(Xinhua News Agency December 18, 2009)