Environment     

China holds 17th BASIC climate change meeting

China.org.cn, October 30, 2013

• Ministers from Brazil, South Africa, India and China, also known as the BASIC countries, issued a joint statement on climate change at a press conference following the 17th BASIC Ministerial Meeting on Climate Change in Hangzhou on Tuesday.

  A press conference was held following the closing of the 17th BASIC Ministerial Meeting on Climate Change in Hangzhou on Tuesday. [Gong Yingchun/China.org.cn]

  
  
  

  They appealed to developed countries to fulfill their commitments in providing financial support to developing countries in a bid to address climate change.

  The joint statement stressed that an agreement on finance will be the key to the success of the forthcoming Warsaw Climate Change Conference, which will be held from Nov 11 to 22, 2013. BASIC countries urged developed countries to fulfill their financing pledges to developing countries in a measurable, reportable and verifiable manner, with firm and secured commitments of funding from 2013 to 2020 and a clear roadmap to provide US$100 billion per year by 2020.

  Jose Antonio Marcondes de Carvalho, Under Secretary-General for the Environment, Energy, Science and Technology of the Ministry of External Relations of Brazil, pointed out that there was still a long way to go for developed countries to fulfill their funding commitments.

  Xie Zhenhua, vice director of China's National Development and Reform Commission, highlighted the importance of the funding by explaining that only with such funding can developing countries take action in adaptation, mitigation, technology transfer as well as capacity building.

  "We understand the economic difficulties that developed countries have suffered, but it is a short-term problem. We hope developed countries will fulfill their commitments," he said.

  According to the statement, public financial resources should be the main source of the funding while finance from the private sector can only be supplementary. "Governments should introduce effective policies to encourage private financing in the climate change market," Xie said.

  Moreover, BASIC countries reiterated that the work of ADP (abbreviation of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action, which is a subsidiary body that was established by 2011 United Nations Climate Change Conference, aims to establish a legally binding deal comprising all countries by 2015, which was to take effect in 2020) shall be under the Convention and guided by its principles, in particular equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities.

  The statement also reiterated that the BASIC countries will continue to strengthen the unity and the voice of developing countries in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and other multilateral negotiation processes.

  India will host the 18th BASIC Ministerial Meeting on Climate Change.

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