Commonwealth leaders agree on climate change plan

Prime Minister Patrick Manning will join other world leaders, including U.S. President barack Obama, at next month's climate change summit in Copenhagen, Denmark, starting next week.

Manning will be attending in his dual capacity as the head of the Trinidad and Tobago delegation and the chairman of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).

Speaking with reporters in Port of Spain, Manning said Commonwealth leaders have recognized the "undisputed threat" to their security, prosperity and economic and social development posed by climate change, which led to the signing of an historic declaration aimed at addressing the problem.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, United Nations Secretary General Bank Ki-moon and Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen met with Commonwealth leaders at a special session at which they reaffirmed a commitment to the Lake Victoria Commonwealth Climate Change Action Plan adopted in Uganda in 2007.

Manning said the Port of Spain Climate Change Consensus represents the concerns of Commonwealth leaders and sets specific objectives to achieve in Copenhagen next month.

The declaration commits the Commonwealth leaders to approach the climate change summit "with ambition, optimism and determination" and insists on addressing the needs of the most vulnerable.

"Their voice must be heard and capacity to engage strengthened. Many of us from small island states, low lying coastal states and least developed countries face the greatest challenges, yet have contributed least to the problem of climate change,” the declaration said.

The leaders concluded that "we only have a few short years to address the this threat" of rising temperatures caused by the increase in carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions.

"The latest scientific evidence indicates that in order to avoid dangerous climate change that is likely to have catastrophic impacts we must find solutions using all available avenues. We must act now," they said.

They declaration urges world leaders to agree to "a comprehensive, substantial and operationally binding agreement in Copenhagen leading towards a full legally binding outcome no later than 2010," with emphasis on the urgent needs of developing countries.

It said these countries need financing and support to help them make the changes and adjustments necessary to arrest the environmental degradation without compromising their legitimate development aspirations.

The leaders also want the establishment of a Copenhagen Launch Fund starting next year to help the most vulnerable countries with immediate allocation of at least 10 per cent of the funds to small island states and associated low-lying coastal states of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS).

“We also recognise the need for further, specified and comparable funding streams, to assist the poorest and most vulnerable countries, to cope with, and adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change. We recognise that funding will be scaled up beyond 2012,” the leaders said.