4 November 2011
BASIC Ministers Outline Expectations Ahead of Durban
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The Ninth BASIC Ministerial Meeting on Climate Change concluded with ministers calling on the Durban Climate Change Conference to: achieve a comprehensive, fair and balanced outcome to enable the full, effective and sustained implementation of the Convention and its Kyoto Protocol; and establish the second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol.

1 November 2011: The ninth BASIC Ministerial Meeting on Climate Change concluded with a joint statement in which ministers agreed that the Durban Climate Change Conference should achieve a comprehensive, fair and balanced outcome to enable the full, effective and sustained implementation of the Convention and its Kyoto Protocol.

The meeting, which took place on 1 November 2011, in Beijing, China, was attended by representatives from Brazil, South Africa, India and China (BASIC). Representatives of the Group of 77 and China, the Arab Group and the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) attended as observers. The aim of the meeting was to seek consensus on climate change issues ahead of the 17th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (COP 17) and the seventh meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (COP/MOP 7) scheduled to take place in Durban, South Africa, at the end of the year.

In the joint statement issued at the conclusion of the meeting, ministers stress that a Durban outcome should be in accordance with the principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, and fulfilling the mandate of the Bali Roadmap. They call upon the Durban Conference to clearly establish the second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol and for developed country parties that are not Parties to the Kyoto Protocol to undertake comparable quantified emission reduction commitments under the Convention. They also call on developing country parties to implement enhanced mitigation actions in the context of sustainable development, and enabled and supported by finance, technology and capacity building. In addition, the ministers urge developed countries to honor their commitment to provide US$100 billion per year by 2020 in a predictable manner with specific measures and a clear roadmap to be adopted in Durban, ensuring that there is no funding gap from 2013 to 2020.

Ministers further decided to hold their tenth meeting in India, during the first quarter of 2012. [Chinese Government Press Release] [The Joint Statement]