NUSA DUA,
Indonesia: India and China have demonstrated commitment to a climate
accord struck in Copenhagen last year and their refusal so far to
"associate" with it should not be overblown, the UN's climate chief
said on Friday.
The Copenhagen Accord reached last year was not legally binding, but
over 100 countries have already said they are willing to "associate"
with it, which means their names are listed at the top of the
document.
China and India are yet to say if they will associate or not, but the
head of the U.N. Climate Secretariat, Yvo de Boer, said he was
unworried by that. "Both China and India, together with about 60 other
countries, have submitted plans or targets on the actions they plan to
take. In that sense, I think there is both a political and substantive
commitment in the context of the Copenhagen Accord," he told reporters
at a U.N. environment meeting in Nusa Dua on the Indonesian island of
Bali.
"The Indian prime minister has indicated that he supports the
Copenhagen Accord and India has submitted a national action plan in
the context of the Copenhagen Accord. India has formulated eight
national goals in different areas that are directly relevant to
climate change. India is moving forward on this topic at the national
level."
People should focus less on the Copenhagen Accord and more on
finalising the implementation of a legally binding agreement. Only
after that, he said, would countries be expected to sign up. India's
environment secretary, Vijai Sharma, on Thursday played down his
country's reluctance to associate with the accord.
"India has gone a step further. Wwe are already taking action," he
told reporters. De Boer, a Dutch national, will resign from the U.N.
in July to join consultancy firm KPMG. When asked if he was interested
in replacing De Boer as chief, Sharma responded by giving the thumbs
up sign. De Boer said on Friday that Europe, Japan and the United
States were looking at using existing financial institutions and
mechanisms to distribute the $30 billion in climate aid promised by
developed to poor countries in Copenhagen.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said on Friday that quick
disbursement of this promised money was vital, but Norway's
Environment Minister, Erik Solheim, said he was not aware of any
progress being made on that front. "It's too much up in the air,
still. Time is very short. It must be done in the next two months," he
said.
