Climate still waiting on the rich
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Developing countries once again urged rich nations to keep their promise to help them in the fight against climate change.
![Brazilian Ambassador Vera Machado (center) with ministers of environment (from left to right) Jairam Rameseh of India, Buyelwa Sonjica of South Africa, Izabella Teixeira of Brazil and Xie Zhenhua of China at a climate change meeting on Monday. [Reuters]](http://images.china.cn/attachement/jpg/site1007/20100728/00114320f5750db9ca3105.jpg "Brazilian Ambassador Vera Machado (center) with ministers of environment (from left to right) Jairam Rameseh of India, Buyelwa Sonjica of South Africa, Izabella Teixeira of Brazil and Xie Zhenhua of China at a climate change meeting on Monday. [Reuters]") |
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Brazilian Ambassador Vera Machado (center) with ministers of environment (from left to right) Jairam Rameseh of India, Buyelwa Sonjica of South Africa, Izabella Teixeira of Brazil and Xie Zhenhua of China at a climate change meeting on Monday. [Reuters] |
The ministers of four major emerging economies said at the conclusion of a meeting on Monday that developed countries should provide detailed and comprehensive information on their pledge to provide a climate-change fund.
Rich countries pledged to provide $30 billion by 2012 to help developing countries reduce carbon emissions and adapt to the impact of climate change, with the commitment to increase that to $100 billion per year by 2020.
The commitment came on the heels of the Copenhagen conference in December.
The financing "will be the key for an effective result in the (next) climate change negotiations in Cancun," said ministers from China, Brazil, India and South Africa after a meeting in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday and Monday.
The BASIC Group, as they are called, also urged that the financing cover adaptation and technology development, and expressed concerns over the lack of guidelines for distributing the funds.
"Public financing should play the major role as a predictable source of financing," said the ministers in a joint statement.
The ministers also highlighted the importance of achieving a balanced outcome in Cancun, Mexico, where the next United Nations Climate Change Conference will be held in November.
The previous meeting failed to reach common ground on a limit for carbon emissions for developing countries, which will be presented to the Cancun conference, said Xinhua News Agency.
The four countries decided to hold another meeting in Beijing in October, expecting to achieve a consensus so they can work together in Cancun, Xinhua said.
In building a balanced and comprehensive outcome for the climate negotiations, the ministers said they don't want developed countries to control their carbon emissions.
"Equitable access to carbon space must be considered in the context of sustainable development, the right to which is at the heart of the climate change regime, and which demands the implementation of ambitious financing, technological support and capacity building," said the ministers in the joint statement.
The ministers also stressed the unity of the Group of 77 developing countries and China and their role in negotiating climate-change regimes.
In addition to ministers from BASIC, a special envoy for climate change from Venezuela, Claudia Salerno Caldera, also attended the meeting in Rio de Janeiro as an observer.
The ministers decided to continue their approach of inviting other countries to the BASIC meetings to "foster transparency and benefit from a variety of views on climate change issues."
