国内英语新闻:BASIC ministers urge developed nations to honor climate change commitments

BEIJING, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- The ministers of Brazil, South Africa, India and China (BASIC) in a Tuesday joint statement urged developed nations to fulfill their commitments and provide funds and technology to help developing nations tackle climate change.

Developed nations should honor their commitments, made at the Copenhagen climate change conference in 2009, to provide 100 billion U.S. dollars annually by 2020 and ensure that there will be no funding gaps from 2013 to 2020, according to the statement.

Developed nations should also fulfill their pledge to offer 30 billion U.S. dollars in "fast-start funding" to developing nations in order to help them address climate change, the statement said.

The ministers agreed that the coming Durban climate change conference should achieve a "comprehensive, fair and balanced outcome" under the principle of common but differentiated responsibility.

They called on the conference to clearly establish the second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol, during which developed country parties to the Kyoto Protocol should undertake quantified emission reduction commitments.

The Kyoto Protocol is the cornerstone of climate change and its second commitment period is an essential priority for the success of the Durban conference, according to the statement.H The joint statement was issued following a two-day meeting of ministers from the four nations, also known as the ninth BASIC Ministerial Meeting on Climate Change, a mechanism through which the four countries and other developing countries coordinate their efforts in climate change.

Representatives of Group 77 countries, island countries and the Arab League also attended the meeting.

The Durban conference is scheduled for November. The focus of the conference is expected to be the extension of the Kyoto Protocol and acquiring a commitment from developed countries for the protocol's next period.

The Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement linked to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, sets binding targets for 37 industrialized countries and the European community for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from 2008 to 2012.