The United Nations Climate Change Conference in Cancun, Mexico, kicked off Monday with calls for commitment and compromise.
In his opening speech, Mexican President Felipe Calder'n cited last year's hurricane in Mexico, this year's floods in Pakistan and fires in Russia as examples of increasing incidences of natural disasters brought about by climate change and already affecting the poorest and most vulnerable. "Climate change is an issue that affects life on a planetary scale," he said. "What this means is that you will not be here alone negotiating in Cancun. By your side, there will be billions of human beings, expecting you to work for all of humanity," he said. The two-week meeting is the sixteenth Conference of the 194 Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the sixth meeting of the 192 Parties to the Kyoto Protocol. Mexican Foreign Minister and newly elected President of the Conference, Patricia Espinosa said: "It is time to make a concerted effort before it is too late. We can only achieve the results if we commit to making progress." According to COP President Espinosa, governments meeting in Mexico can reach a deal to launch action on adaptation, technology transfer and forests; along with creating a new fund for long-term climate finance. UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres said in her opening address that governments had revealed a growing convergence that a balanced set of decisions under both the Convention and the Kyoto Protocol could be an achievable outcome in Canc?n. At the same time, a number of politically charged issues need to be resolved in order to reach such an outcome. Chief among these is how to take mitigation actions forward. In the course of 2010, all 37 industrialised nations and 42 developing countries, including the largest emerging economies, submitted targets and voluntary actions to reduce or limit greenhouse gas emissions. These mitigation promises need to be formalised as a matter of urgency. Following up from Copenhagen, the UN's top climate change official, Figueres said that developed countries had in the course of 2010 revealed a commitment to live up to the fast start finance pledged in 2009. Developed countries have announced pledges totaling USD 28 billion and many of them are now making information available on the disbursement of these funds. Close to 15,000 participants, including government delegates from the 194 Parties to the UNFCCC and representatives from business and industry, environmental organizations and research institutions, are attending the two-week gathering in Cancun.
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