BOGOR, Indonesia, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- The United States and Australia have
given signal to commit with the new regime of climate change after the Kyoto
protocol expiry on 2012, top U.N. officials said here on Thursday.
Executive Secretary of the United Nations framework Convention on Climate
Change 13th Conference (UNFCCC) Yvo de Boer and President of the UNFCCC Rahmat
Witoelar told a joint press conference that the two countries would commit with
the new protocol.
Both the U.S. and Australia indicated that they are willing to take on
commitments on a future climate change regime, they said after the three-day
informal ministerial meeting that took place in a historical palace at the
botanical garden in scenic Bogor town in the slope of Jakarta.
Witoelar said a new consciousness had made him optimistic that the U.S.
would change its stance.
Among the attendees of the Bogor meeting were representatives from the
United States and Australia, neither of which have ratified the Kyoto Protocol.
The countries remain opposed to mandatory emissions reductions and argue
that a framework for tackling climate change should include emissions cuts by
rapidly industrializing nations.
Over 189 countries, including the United States, are to participate in the
climate change conference from Dec. 3 to 15 in Bali, Indonesia, Witoelar has
said.
