VOLUNTARY COMMITMENT VITAL IN TACKLING ISSUES ON CLIMATE - MALAYSIAN PM

From Mokhtar Hussain

COPENHAGEN, Dec 17 (Bernama) -- Malaysia hopes that world leaders can give
their political commitment in the form of a declaration to control world
climatic change if a legally-binding agreement cannot be achieved at the
conference on climatic change, here.

Prime Minister Najib Razak said the commitment was important as the
implications from the world climatic change currently could have an adverse
impact on humans worldwide especially in the event of a calamity befalling the
planet.

"In the event of a failure (to achieve a legally-binding agreement), the
implication to human beings universally is devastating, especially a major
disaster which will jeopardise the future and survival of human beings," he told
Malaysian journalists on the eve of the conference to be held on Thursday and
Friday.

With such a commitment in place, he said the developing countries would act
voluntarily to reduce carbon emission while the developed countries provided the
funds to the developing countries to come up with the technology that could
reduce global warming.

Najib said there was now a significant barrier between the developed and
developing countries to reach a consensus to come up with a legally-binding
agreement encompassing all the countries in the world.

"It is very difficult to predict the outcome of the conference because I am
told there are differences (of opinions) between the developed and developing
countries, for example, there are countries that reject the Kyoto Protocol," he
said Wednesday.

However, the Prime Minister said, he hoped that there would be a convergence
between the developed and developing countries within the "next one or two days"
to save the future of the world.

For Malaysia, he said, it was most important that the conference would
achieve a successful conclusion as the issue on climatic change was pressing and
critical.

Najib also reiterated Malaysia's stand that the issue on climatic change
should not be linked to trade, such as the imposition of conditions or certain
obstacles.

Najib is scheduled to deliver a speech at the two-day summit to explain the
measures to be taken by Malaysia in efforts to tackle the problem.

The Prime Minister also said that a continuous educational process was
important especially in creating public awareness on their role in conserving
the environment.

More than 100 heads of countries and governments are attending the summit
conference with the focus on China and the United States which are the two
countries that record the highest carbon emission and had differences of opinion
in the initial stages of the conference which had started since Dec 7.
-- BERNAMA