Africa meeting key step in climate talks: UN climate chief

0 Comments | AFP, August, 2008

PARIS (AFP) — Rich nations will come under pressure at climate talks in Africa this week to get specific about how quickly and by how much they intend to cut their carbon footprints, said the UN climate chief.

The expert-level gathering in Accra, Ghana kicks off today, and will lay the technical groundwork for a major UN meeting in Poznan, Poland at the end of the year.

"I expect rich countries to agree on the ranges by which they feel that greenhouse gas emissions should be reduced," Yvo de Boer told AFP.

"Specific targets will probably come in Copenhagen," he said, referring to the December 2009 UN conference where the world's nations have pledged to validate a successor plan for tackling global warming after the Kyoto Protocol runs out in 2012.

...