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MINISTERIAL MEETING ON CLIMATE CHANGE

In the Ministerial group on climate change, chaired by Ministers from Argentina and Japan, delegations who had made proposals in the text explained their positions. BRAZIL and SWITZERLAND noted that the public would gauge the success of UNGASS by its statement on climate change. JAPAN proposed using language from the Denver G-8 Summit: At COP-3, the industrialized countries should commit to meaningful, realistic and equitable targets that will result in reductions of greenhouse gas emissions by 2010. The agreement must ensure transparency and accountability and all participants’ flexibility in the manner in which they meet their targets. The EU proposed text calling for: an agreement on a legally binding commitment for the developed world at FCCC COP-3 for a significant reduction of the emissions of greenhouse gases below the 1990 level by the years 2005 and 2010 as well as mandatory and recommended policies and measures, including harmonized ones. Delegates proposing text met in a contact group to combine their proposals.

The group produced a text noting that developed countries should seek a legally binding agreement with meaningful, equitable targets that will result in significant greenhouse gas reductions with specific timeframes such as 2005 and 2010. JAPAN objected to “significant” and AUSTRALIA disapproved of “legally binding.”