Editorial
Commonwealth lifts the spirit for Copenhagen
Legally binding treaty on climate change awaited
THE Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) 2009 in Port of Spain, the capital of Trinidad and Tobago has voiced a strong commitment to efforts for reaching a political consensus in Copenhagen to produce a legally binding deal by 2010 for cutting greenhouse gas emissions and financing adaptation measures by the developing countries.
This is a very significant initiative on the part of the Commonwealth for some cogent reasons. First and foremost, Commonwealth is made up of 54 countries of differing economic and technological standings representing one-third of the world's population. The countries of the Commonwealth are from the developed and developing worlds, the North and the South and the East and the West. In one word, CHOGM is typically representative of the 192 countries having stake in the UN Conference of Parties (COP-15) due in Copenhagen early this month. When so many countries could forge a combined position on climate change in Port of Spain, the natural expectation is that the negotiating countries in Copenhagen would take the message, bridge whatever gaps remain in their positions and cut an equitable and just climate deal to save the planet.
We regard the Commonwealth's initiative in the immediate prelude to Copenhagen as the most propitious development when its critics have been expressing a degree of doubt in the organisation's efficacy. Indeed the Commonwealth has in it a considerable base for the countries to complement each other in their efforts to limit climate change impacts.
Of course, the Commonwealth needs to be reformed to live up to its potential in the changing dynamic of the present-day world. By taking the move in Port of Spain, CHOGM has sent a signal across for a hands-on involvement in make-or-break endeavours. Certain core values have been the strength of the Commonwealth, something which seems to have been reflected to an extent through the strong commitment expressed for fair a climate change related deal in the Danish capital.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments