HIGH LEVEL MEETING OF 33 COUNTRIES AGREE ON DELHI DECLARATION ON CLIMATE CHANGE

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The United Nations Conference on Climate Change, COP-8, to be held later this month in New Delhi will come out with the Delhi Declaration incorporating a framework of action for implementation of concrete measures to mitigate climate change. An agreement to this effect was reached at the two-day high-level meeting of Environment Ministers and delegates from about 35 countries, that concluded in New Delhi yesterday. The Delhi Declaration proposal made by India to make COP-8 a meaningful and productive conference was endorsed by the participants. The Environment and Forests Minister, Shri T.R.Baalu presided over the meeting.

Shri Baalu said that the previous climate change conferences addressed to various negotiational and institutional issues and the Delhi conference shall mark the beginning of concrete actions for containing and mitigating the climate change. India’s proposals for Round Table format of plenary sessions for focussed discussions and the themes for the three Round Tables were also accepted. The themes will be – Stocktaking of implementation of commitments under the UN Convention on Climate Change and Sustainable development and climate change. The third Round Table will finalise the Delhi Declaration based on the discussion in the earlier Round Tables.

The Delhi Declaration is aimed at giving the necessary momentum for taking requisite measures for combating global climate change. COP-8 also seeks to operationalise various financial and institutional mechanisms that were agreed to in the previous