6TH MEETING OF BASIC MINISTERS ON CLIMATE CHANGE

The 6th meeting of the Environment Ministers of the four BASIC countries namely, Brazil, South Africa, India and China will meet February 26. They will assess the post Cancun climate change policy and actions at the global and national level and discuss coordination going forward. Representatives from Argentina, Algeria and Maldives have also been invited to this meeting.

BASIC countries’ meeting is significant as it will be the first major international meeting of any group of countries since December, 2010 when Cancun Agreements were reached under the leadership of Mexico as the Chair of 16th Conference of Parties to the UNFCCC and Kyoto Protocol. In the run up to Durban in South Africa, where the next Conference of Parties will take place in December, 2011, the Parties are expected to finalize the rules and modalities for implementing the Cancun decisions. A meeting of the two Ad-hoc Working Groups of the Convention and the Kyoto Protocol is already scheduled in Bangkok in April this year to discuss the issues emerging from the Cancun decisions and decide on a work programme for actions. Some of the important issues which are likely to command attention in the current year are those relating to the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol and the ambition and accountability of commitments and actions of developed country Parties. The rules for international assessment and review (IAR) of the targets of developed countries and international consultations and analysis (ICA) of developing countries actions are also to be prepared and finalized. Legal options for the outcomes in future are also going to be a major issue for discussion. Other important issues relate to the work of the Transitional Committee set up by the Parties to design the Green Climate Fund and operationalizing the Technology Executive Committee set up to facilitate the process of diffusion and deployment of climate friendly technologies.

Shri Jairam Ramesh, Minister of State for Environment and Forests said, “Over the last 15 months, BASIC has become a powerful force within the climate change negotiations. The BASIC Ministers have been meeting regularly since Copenhagen to exchange views and evolve a coordinated approach to important negotiating issues. We will continue to work closely to ensure a positive outcome at Durban and beyond, while advancing the interests of our countries and partners.”

The two day meeting will be held in a “BASIC Plus” format. India has invited Ministers/Ambassadors from three other countries – Argentina, Algeria and Maldives –to the Delhi meeting. These countries represent important regional groups within the “G-77 and China” bloc in the climate change negotiations, and will participate in the meeting as Observers. This is in keeping with the BASIC tradition of involving major regional groups within G-77 and China in order to enrich discussions and represent the interests of developing countries. Maldives is a member of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in addition to being a neighboring country from South Asian region. Algeria represents the developing countries in Africa, while Argentina is the current Chair of the Group of 77 and China.
The BASIC group was formed in Beijing in November 2009.