UN summit must send 'strong signal' to climate change negotiators – Danish official

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon must ensure that a high-level summit slated for September send a “very clear and strong signal” to negotiators aiming to reach a new United Nations climate change deal in Copenhagen this December, a top Danish official said today.

The 22 September meeting is being convened by Mr. Ban – who has deemed 2009 the “year of climate change” – ahead of a UN conference in the Danish capital during which countries will seek to agree on a successor pact to the Kyoto Protocol on greenhouse gas emissions, whose commitment period ends in 2012.

September’s high-level summit is a time for political leaders “to be forced into the crunch issues” of climate change, namely financing for adaptation and mitigation strategies, Connie Hedegaard, Minister for Climate and Energy of Denmark, told a news conference in New York.

The meeting is the “last chance” for political leaders to push for unity in Copenhagen, thus setting the cue for negotiators in December, she added.

“Prior to Copenhagen, the 192 Governments must make up their minds and their positions. For them to do so, they must know all the potential elements for an agreement,” said Ms. Hedegaard.

She noted that a series of meetings taking place ahead of the December conference, including the September summit, provided ideal ground for building consensus among developed countries on climate change financing, so that the developing world would be more easily persuaded to mainstream climate resilience into their growth strategies.

“My reading is only if the developed countries, in good time prior to Copenhagen, manage to be clear on the message that, yes, they are going to deliver truly additional financing, and financing that does not have to be pledged on an annual or biennial basis...only then we can expect developing countries to engage even more in this,” she said.

Ms. Hedegaard said that the first version of the negotiating text would reflect the outcome of deliberations already taking place, such as in Bonn this April where discussions were held on the possibility of creating a climate change mitigation registry, among other things.

Negotiators were expected to build on those agreements when they reconvene again in Bonn in June.