Africa Takes Joint Stand as Climate Summit Opens

The climate change summit in Copenhagen opened Monday with claims by developing countries for financial aid for mitigation expected to be a key point of discussion.

Over 100 heads of state are attending the two-week UN summit in the Danish capital alongside 15,000 delegates from 192 nations.

Another key issue is the discussion about developed countries cutting on greenhouse emissions, carbon trading and a cap on the destruction of forests by 2030. The spotlight is especially on the United States and China to pledge a significant cut in their carbon emissions. The two countries are the world’s largest carbon polluters.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, who also heads the Committee of African Heads of State and Government on Climate Change has called for a common African stand during the summit.

Zenawi said Africa had contributed negligible emissions and yet suffered the worst effects of climate change with shifts being experienced in agricultural production.

African leaders have agreed to adopt an African Union proposal to demand at least $67 billion in environmental damages from developed countries.

British Prime minister Gordon Brown proposed his county’s contribution of $10 billion to the set up a fund that would help developing countries tackle climate change at a recent Commonwealth meeting in Trinidad and Tobago.

Kenya’s Prime Minister Raila Odinga called for diplomatic sobriety during the summit, urging world leaders to avoid brinkmanship.

The summit is expected to work out a new pact on global warming that will replace the Kyoto Protocol which expires on 2012.

The Kyoto Protocol was implemented in 2005 with an aim to cut down on emissions from rich countries. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has said he is optimistic that an acceptable agreement would be reached during the summit. [ER]