INDONESIA TO MEDIATE TALKS IN COPENHAGEN

Copenhagen, Dec 8 (ANTARA) - Indonesia will help bridge the different interests of developed and developing countries in the 15th Climate Change Summit in Copenhagen, Denmark, so that a binding agreement could be reached, the country's chief delegate said.

"We, the Indonesian delegation, believe we can play a bridging role for the achievement of a common agreement between the developed and developing countries," chief delegate Rachmat Witoelar said here on Tuesday.

He said there were two problems hindering a consensus, namely regarding timing and who will start first.

"Participants are seen optimistic, like in the 13th Climate Change Summit in Bali in 2007. So I believed the meeting in Copenhagen this time would also produce a surprise that we are expecting," he said.

Denmark's prime minister Lars Lakke Rasmussen at the opening of the conference said he wished an ambitious and strong agreement could be produced from the conference to respond to the challenge of climate change, confirmed by 110 heads of state that would attend the summit.

The executive secretary of the UNFCCC, Yvo De Boer, meanwhile said the conference could only be considered succesful if it could produce an agreement which could be implemented immediately.

"I have heard strong political statements (from participants) for the achievement of an agreement containing serious limitation of gas emissions and funding and technological support for developing countries," he said.

He said this could certainly be achieved if countries would focus on formulating a solid agreement.

He said the time for expressing views had expired and now was the time for action and producing real agreement.

Denmark's minister of climate and energy reiterated the importance for developed and developing countries to cooperate constructively to achieve a common committment through a concensus.

Sudan representing the Group of 77 developing countries and China meanwhile firmly rejected any obligation for developing countries with regard to the agreement to be produced from the conference.

They said the agreement must be in line with the mandate of the Bali Action Plan which puts shared vision as the direction for the long-term cooperation action representing the correlation between stabilizing green house gas concentration and the Bali Action Plan pillars.

In view of that developed countries have to assure mitigation efforts while developing countries will contribute to efforts in reducing gas emissions through low-carbon economic development plans in their respective countries.

The view was supported by Algeria representing the African countries and Lesotho representing the least developed countries (LDC) and Grenada representing the alliance of small island states (AOSIS).

Mexico that represents the environmental integrity group (EIG) also supports the completion of the process that has been mandated by the Bali Action Plan.

The EIG also supports the achievment of an agreement that is legally binding and the continuation of the Kyoto Protocol.

Australia that represents the Umbrella Group (Australia, Canada, Iceland, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, the Russian Federation, Ukraine and the US) also hopes that the summit could produce a firm action which maximizes credibility and acknowledges scientific studies which state that the rise of earth temperature would not surpass two Celcius degrees a year.

All countries are required to take action depending on their own capability and to support the achievement of a binding agreement.

Sweden that represents the European countries has expressed the European countries' committment to reaching an ambitious and legally binding agreement and the continuation of the Kyoto Protocol.

The European countries are committed to reducing gas emissions and seeking funding for the adaptation purposes.

For the short term the European countries would committ 5.7 billion euros three years after the agreement is effective.