Developed countries must show leadership in cutting their carbon
emissions, but developing countries can and must contribute too,
said Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean in Singapore's national
statement at the United Nations climate change conference in
Durban, South Africa on Wednesday.
Ministers and leaders from more than 190 countries are in town
to discuss the future of the Kyoto Protocol, the legal pact that
requires developed nations to cut their carbon dioxide emissions,
as well as other measures to help developing countries cope with
climate change's impacts.
Each national statement outlines a country's position and
demands. Singapore, DPM Teo said, associates itself with the
developing-country Group of 77 and China, and with the Alliance of
Small Island States.
From the negotiations, it wants a multilateral, rules-based
system under which every country plays by the rules; transparency,
meaning that countries must be able to measure, report and verify
that they made the emissions cuts they pledged; and universal
participation, meaning all countries must participate according to
their respective abilities.
