Michael de Laine

By Michael de Laine, the Copenhagen Voice, 8 November 2009

There is a strong political momentum towards an ambitious outcome at the UNFCCC climate conference in Copenhagen next month, and there a real dedication among leaders that we need such an outcome, Danish Prime Minster Lars Løkke Rasmussen told the finance ministers of the G20 group of the world’s economies. “It will be a failure if we miss this deadline,” he added.

Addressing the finance ministers of the G20 group of the world’s economies, meeting in St Andrews in Scotland, Danish Prime Minster Lars Løkke Rasmussen said that, with exactly one month to COP15 in Copenhagen, the question on everybody’s lips is: ‘can we make it?’.

“Over the last weeks and months I have engaged in intensive consultations with leaders from around the world,” the Danish Prime Minister said. “My impression is this: There is a strong political momentum towards Copenhagen, and a real dedication among leaders that we need an ambitious outcome in Copenhagen. It will be a failure if we miss this deadline.

“That said, it’s also obvious that there is still many difficult issues unresolved. But if we manage to channel the political momentum and dedication into the right mix of efforts, will and constructiveness at the negotiating table, then this deal is possible.”

The Danish government’s objective as host for the COP15 conference is to achieve one agreement with two purposes, Rasmussen said.

The first purpose is to provide political guidance for the UNFCCC negotiations on the new legal framework. These negotiations will stretch beyond COP 15 itself.

“The second [purpose] is to adopt a binding political agreement that would enter into force immediately and hence provide for immediate action to combat global warming,” the Danish Prime minister added.

A former finance minister himself, Rasmussen noted that the G20’s finance ministers “have been asked by your leaders in Pittsburgh to present options for climate financing as a resource for the UN negotiations.”

He said that climate finance is perhaps the most complex issue, but it could also be key to unlocking positions in other areas.

“It is my belief that concrete results in the following three areas will significantly increase the odds of overall success in Copenhagen,” Rasmussen said. “The first issue concerns a new multilateral fund and its governance. I think there could be a role for such a fund, either new or through a reformed existing fund. In case, my advice would be that it should be ready to work immediately.

“The second issue is how we coordinate the broader system of funding through multilateral, regional and bilateral channels. The third issue is the scale and fair distribution of contributions for climate financing.”

He noted that there are still complex questions related to finance. But there is also a strong political momentum to address these questions ahead of December’s meeting.

“I really encourage you to stay engaged all the way to Copenhagen,” the Danish Prime Minister told the G20 finance ministers.