Mr. Ban, who has repeatedly called climate change and its attendant consequences of increased droughts, floods, rising seas and more violent storms “the defining challenge of our era,” will urge the leaders of the 53-member Commonwealth to attend the summit, confident that strong momentum is building for a framework that can be moulded into a legally binding climate treaty as early as possible in 2010.
Yesterday he welcomed the announcement that United States President Barack Obama will go to Copenhagen as yet another sign of the gathering momentum.
Over the next two days in Port of Spain, Mr. Ban will urge the Commonwealth leaders to stay focused and committed to reach an agreement “that is ambitious, equitable, and satisfies the demands of science,” spokesperson Farhan Haq told a news briefing in New York yesterday.
“The world cannot afford to fail in Copenhagen because the costs are simply too great, the Secretary-General will urge the leaders. Failure to seal a deal could result in increased human suffering, higher economic losses, opportunities squandered in terms of productivity, global competitiveness and political stability,” Mr. Haq added.
For more than a year, Mr. Ban has let barely a speech go by without calling on world leaders to face up to the challenge of forging a successor to the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which set limits on global warming greenhouse gases for industrialized nations and whose first commitment period expires in 2012.
The Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Yvo de Boer, told reporters last week that President Obama's presence in the Danish capital “would make a huge difference.”
He added today that the US commitment to specific, mid-term emission cut targets and China's commitment to specific action on energy efficiency can “unlock two of the last doors” to a comprehensive agreement.
“Let there be no doubt that we need continued strong ambition and leadership,” he stated. “In particular, we still await clarity from industrialised nations on the provision of large-scale finance to developing countries for immediate and long-term climate action.”
In addition to commitments on financing, Mr. de Boer has cited individualized targets “in black and white” by industrialized States to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2020, and a list of actions by developing nations, as the main points that must come out of Copenhagen.
Originally it had been hoped to produce the legally binding treaty in Copenhagen but persistent differences in pre-summit talks on these issues pushed back the timeframe and Mr. de Boer now hopes a formal treaty will follow within six months.
Rasmussen has been engaged in efforts to secure support for a politically binding deal at the United Nations climate change summit, which Denmark hosts in December.
About 50 heads of government are due to attend the two-day Commonwealth Summit in Trinidad and Tobago on Friday, including British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, South Africa's President Jacob Zuma, and Australia's Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy was also due to attend the meeting.
Rasmussen has invited 192 heads of government and state to the climate change summit Copenhagen on December 7-18.
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Commonwealth Leaders to Discuss Climate Change and Democracy
Spokesman Eduardo del Buey says the Commonwealth has been promoting democracy since its founding 60 years ago
A new report says the Commonwealth should do more to promote democratic governance among its member countries.
The report by the Commonwealth Policy Studies Unit says a key obstacle to deepening democracy is the failure in many countries to encourage open political competition.
The report comes as the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting known as CHOGM opens Friday, November 27 in the Trinidad and Tobago capital of Port of Spain.
http://chogm2009.org/home/
“The Commonwealth is very involved in promoting democracy, and it’s something we’ve been doing ever since we became an active organization 60 years ago or over 60 years ago,” said Eduardo del Buey, chief spokesman for the Commonwealth Secretariathe.
He said one of the issues the leaders will be considering in Trinidad and Tobago is a proposal by the Commonwealth Secretary-General to create an alliance of election commissioners.
De Buey said the alliance would provide the venue for election commissioners across the Commonwealth to share expertise, get peer review, and learn from each other on how to better manage elections.
He disagreed with one of the report’s claims that the Commonwealth was not doing enough to hold member countries accountable to democratic governance.
“There’s no such thing like perfect democracy in the world. We’re all at different stages of development, and the Commonwealth Secretariat realizes that and we work with member states in order to improve their abilities to improve democratically,” Del Buey said.
The UN Climate Conference begins December 6-18 in the Danish capital of Copenhagen.
African Union Chairman Jean Ping said last September that athough Africa is the least responsible for global warming, it suffers the most.
Del Buey said climate change is high on the agenda of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Trinidad and Tobago.
He said the Commonwealth wants to make sure the voices of the small and vulnerable are heard in Copenhagen.
“The small and vulnerable states in Africa, the small and vulnerable states in the Pacific and the Caribbean do not create much of the carbon footprints. But they are leading in terms of suffering and the devastation caused by climate change,” he said.
Del Buey said the Commonwealth is seeking to create a system whereby smaller states will have the technology and finance to address the problems climate change is causing them.
The report “Democracy in the Commonwealth” was published by the Commonwealth Policy Studies Unit and Electoral Reform International Services.
The Commonwealth Policy Studies Unit is part of the School of Advance Study in the University of London.
Eighteen African countries are members of the Commonwealth, and conference organizers said most of their leaders are expected to attend.
http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/africa/Butty-Africa-Commonwealth-Meeting-27Nov09-74219927.html
