4 November 2010: Addressing a pre-COP ministerial meeting held in Mexico City, Mexico, on 4 November 2010, Christiana Figueres, UNFCCC Executive Secretary, emphasized the need to further clarify what would constitute a politically balanced package for Cancun.

Outlining the balance required for a political compromise, she described two scales. On the first scale, she said the focus should be on: how to formalize and implement accountably the mitigation targets pledged by developed countries; how these pledges can help advance negotiations; and how developing countries can further their own mitigation responses in a manner that is perceived by all to be fair. Figueres noted that the other scale entails addressing: how transparency of developing countries’ mitigation actions can be balanced to the support that developed countries must provide in order to operationalize adaptation, finance and technology; how to raise long-term finance in a predictable and sufficient manner; and how to measure the impacts of response measures in a satisfactory way. [The Speech]