Africa wants Kyoto pact to stay in place

• Continent needs new and scaled-up finance, negotiators tell climate talks

Africa does not want the Kyoto Protocol replaced or merged with another climate change agreement during the global talks in Copenhagen, Denmark.

African negotiators said in a statement issued on Monday that they preferred an amendment of sections of the current pact and a separate legal instrument developed based on the outcome of negotiations of the Bali Action Plan under the Climate Change Convention.

They want Africa to be equitably compensated for environmental resources, economic and social losses, considering developed countries’ historical responsibilities on climate change.

“In this respect, Africa requires new, sustained and scaled-up finance, technology and capacity for adaptation and risk management,” the statement read in part.

Africa wants the outcome of the Copenhagen convention to provide new, additional, sustainable, accessible and predictable finance.

The provision of financial, technological and capacity building support by developed countries’ parties for adaptation in developing countries, they argue, is a commitment made under the climate change convention.

This phenomenon has been cited as an additional burden to sustainable development, and a threat to achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

The second technical meeting in Addis Ababa brought together about 150 African lead negotiators and experts on climate change from all African countries.

Common position

It is an initiative of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment and the African Union, in collaboration with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and the United Nations Environment Programme.

The meeting was meant to update Africa’s common negotiating position on climate change. The updated and consolidated African Common Position will be submitted to African ministers and heads of State on the eve of the Copenhagen forum.