Johannesburg, 27 April: Minister of environment and forest Mr Jairam Ramesh was the only country representative who was clear on his stand that he did not foresee a breakthrough in the next climate summit at Cancun, a daily said today.
Mr Ramesh was the only one from the four countries represented at a meeting in Cape Town at the weekend who was forthright in his answers, the Afrikaans Daily Beeld said here. The paper was commenting on Mr Ramesh’s view that it was unlikely for an agreement to be reached at the next climate change summit in Cancun, Mexico in December. The daily said the other ministers, from Brazil, South Africa and China, were “dancing on eggs” when asked about their expectations of negotiations in December during a Media conference following the third ministerial meeting of environment ministers from the Basic countries.
“Only the Indian representative said unequivocally that he did not foresee that a breakthrough would be reached in Cancun,” Beeld said, adding that South African minister for water affairs and the environment, Buyelwa Sonjica, had conceded that a delay in any agreement would have a negative effect on developing countries.
The agreement was signed in Copenhagen last year by 30 countries, but has been rejected by several others.
