African countries unite to seal a "fair" deal at the Summit

"Africa is not prepared to accept empty words and agreements that undermine its fundamental interest," the Ethiopian prime minister, Meles Zenawi told delegates to the 15th Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC).

Zenawi, who spoke on behalf of all the African nations at the Summit, added: "We are determined to make sure that in Copenhagen we will have agreement that all of us, Africa included, are happy with or there will be no agreement for anyone."

That agreement, according to him, requires that industrial nations not only commit to deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, but also make solid agreements on the provision of technological and financial assistance to poor countries.

"We are here to negotiate, to give and take and seal a fair deal however messy such a deal might be," he said in suggesting that from next year the developing world requires 10 billion-dollar annual funding until 2012. That amount of money is a must to carry out urgent tasks for mitigation and adaptation.

He demanded that about 40% of the start-up fund be earmarked for Africa and proposed that it should be administered by the African Development Bank under the board of trustees composed of equal number of donors and recipient countries.

Observers said Zenawi's speech allayed doubts about his perceived intentions to break ranks with the rest of the members of the African Union, but also showed that African countries were determined to take a firm stand with the rest of the developing countries under the banner of G-77 and China.

Following days of deadlock in negotiations with the development countries, recently he had received a phone call from the US president Barack Obama, which led many to believe that the US was bent on breaking the African unity.

"The dominant view within the African group is that we need commitments on part of the industrial countries," James Ole Kiyiapi, a negotiator from Kenya told MediaGlobal. The most important among those commitments are the ones that deal with the issue of cuts, compliance, Kyoto Protocol and financing, he said.

Like Zenawi, small island leaders also took a similar stand, although not so vigorous as their counterparts from Africa.

"We must act now because there are millions of people depending on us to provide assurances that their homes, livelihood, communities and countries will not be swept away in the king waves of climate change," said Tillman Thomas, the prime minister of Grenada, on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS).

He urged delegates to abide by the principles laid out at the 2007 Bali conference on climate and said that talks in Copenhagen must be carried out in accordance with the 1997 Kyoto Protocol.

"This will ensure that adequate technical and financial support is provided to vulnerable countries, including small island states, least developed countries, and the countries in Africa affected by drought and desertification," he said.

At the summit, unlike the United States, the European leaders acknowledged the urgent need for commitment to "fast start" funding. They suggested that the amount should be no less than 10 billion-dollars a year until the end of 2013.

"Here in Copenhagen we want the key decisions that will lock the substance of the agreement," said a statement from the European Union. "A legally binding regime should follow as soon as possible preferably within six months."

Yvo de Boer, the UN climate chief has repeatedly mentioned a timeline for a possible global agreement on climate to become a reality. However, whether the world leaders currently gathering in Copenhagen will be able to move forward the UN climate agenda or not, has yet to be seen.

The summit, which has witnessed powerful protests by thousands of environmental activists over the past one week for inaction on the climate agreement, will conclude next Friday.

Article published courtesy of MediaGlobal