The leaders of the nations of the Commonwealth meeting in Trinidad and Tobago released a declaration Saturday expressing their unanimous support for a legally binding agreement on climate change at next month's Copenhagen conference.
Noting that together the group represents approximately one third of the world's population as well as a number of its largest developing and developed nations, the Commonwealth Heads of Government said that they have the "global reach and diversity" to help build international consensus on environmental policy. The group called for a binding agreement to be in place no later than the end of 2010. Immediate action, the statement says, is required in light of recent scientific data that indicates there may only be a few years to act to stop global warming.
The problem is especially pressing for the Commonwealth because of the high proportion of island nations that make up the group. Island nations as well as those with low lying coastal areas will be the first to feel the effects of rising sea levels caused by the melting of polar ice caps.
Commenting on the thorny problem of balancing environmental action with the needs for economic development, especially in poorer nations, the group called on developed nations to take the lead in cutting emissions, while also saying that developing nations also had the responsibility to change their own industrial practices as their circumstances allow.
Central to the statement is support for what the group refers to as "adaptation finance" that will assist developing nations in offsetting the costs of new environmentally friendly measures. The statement notes that "public and private financial resources for developing nations will need to be scaled up urgently and substantially by 2020" and expresses the group's support for a fund of $10 billion annually to provide such assistance by 2012, with that figure rising substantially in the years to follow.
While details of how such funding would be distributed are still to be determined, the statement advocates providing at least 10% of the monies to be disbursed immediately to small island states and those with low-lying coastal areas. The statement also called for a system of governance to be put in place to oversee the funding scheme and to ensure goals are being met over the course of the coming years.
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com