Swift Negotiations Could Fend Off Climate Change Impact, COP18 President Says

Doha, November 30 (QNA) - HE President of the UN Climate Change Conference COP18 Abdullah Bin Hamad Al Attiyah held Friday an open session with heads of delegations and representatives participating in the conference where he listened to their assessment on how negotiations on a second commitment period of Kyoto were proceeding. Speaking to Qatar News Agency, Al Attiyah said that he called on the representatives to work on negotiations from the first minute and coordinate with committee heads, in order to avoid negotiating at the final moments. Al Attiyah said that as a president of the conference, his role was to ensure that negotiations were going smoothly, provide support to different delegations as well as guarantee that negotiations were transparent and comprehensive, in order to reach a balanced agreement the world is awaiting. He added that everyone involved in the conference had to work hand in hand in order to find realistic solutions that would fend off the dangers of climate change. Al Attiyah congratulated the Palestinian delegation after the UN had endorsed yesterday the Palestinian bid to non-member observer state. Group Chairs reported to COP18 President on the progress made in the negotiations so far. They also stressed on the importance of working collectively and finding common grounds in order to reach a balanced and realistic agreement. The Alliance of Small Island States warned that any increase in global temperature that reaches 3-4% could pose a threat on the existence of those islands. Representatives of the alliance called for quickly undertaking policies to combat that threat. Other representatives called that the Kyoto second commitment period includes commitments to lower greenhouse gas emissions. Also finding solutions to the issues of funding the Green Climate Fund, this was formed in Copenhagen in 2009 with a capital of $100 billion annually. A number of Chairs of different groups expressed their pleasure with the progress made so far; they called for more flexibility when negotiating solutions to the impact of climate change. They also maintained that the road was still long, with intensifying efforts a must to reach the goals desired by all the groups involved in the conference. President of the Group of 77 and China called for facing the challenges posed by climate change and stressed that the group will do what it could to ensure Cop18 was a success, and to reach agreements that would save the earth. He also congratulated the Palestinian delegation after Palestine was upgraded by the UN to become a non-member observer state. (QNA)