Thursday, October 23, 2008

Danish PM says 5 elements needed for new global climate change agreement

BEIJING, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen said here on Thursday that five crucial elements would be needed for a new climate change agreement expected to be reached at the Copenhagen conference next year.

The first would be a long-term vision for reducing global greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent in 2050 from the 1990 baseline, Rasmussen said at the first Chinese-Danish Climate Change Conference that opened here on Thursday.
The upcoming Conference of Parties (COP15) of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Copenhagen is regarded as the final opportunity to reach a new agreement before the Kyoto Protocol expires.

All industrialized countries will have to commit to an ambitious medium-term goal, the second element, according to Rasmussen.
"Without clear commitments to reductions from the industrialized countries in a 10 to 15 year perspective, it will be difficult to achieve cost effective measures." More >>>