Australian Climate Minister welcomes UN Durban agreement
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Xinhua, December 12, 2011
Australian federal Climate Change Minister Greg Combet on Sunday praised the outcomes of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Durban of South African, saying that it is a significant breakthrough in tackling global warming.
Combet described the agreements in the conference are good news for the environment. He said it is an important first step towards a comprehensive agreement covering all major economies, and there would be some better monitor and improved transparency of emissions reduction, which would eventually force all the world's polluters to take legally binding action to slow the pace of climate change.
"If this agreement is concluded it will see developing countries take on obligations, allowing the world to move on from the Kyoto Protocol 's unsustainable divide between developed and developing countries and ensuring all nations do their fair share to cut global emissions," he said in a statement.
"They set the world on a path of long-term action to tackle climate change through a regime with wide global coverage and strong environmental effectiveness.
"They will complement Australia's carbon price mechanism by boosting confidence in global mitigation efforts, providing a sound basis for investment in clean energy and stimulating growth in carbon markets."
After over two weeks of meeting, representatives from 194 countries agreed to move towards a new agreement to replace the existing Kyoto Protocol. The main four points are a second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol, the design of a Green Climate Fund and a mandate to get all countries in 2015 to sign a deal that would force them to cut emissions no later than 2020 and set up a work plan for next year respectively.
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