In Brief: Thailand to host climate change conference

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BANGKOK, 1 April 2011 (IRIN) - More than 13 years after the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol [ http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/convkp/kpeng.html ] and three months after the Cancun Agreements, nearly 200 parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) [http://unfccc.int/2860.php ] will gather in Bangkok on 3 April. "The Cancun Agreements [ http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportID=91352 ] were a political deal, and now governments have to sit down and work out the nitty-gritty on how to operationalize plans," Alexander Saier, spokesman for the UN Climate Change Secretariat based in Bonn, Germany, told IRIN. The six-day conference will focus on how to advance technology, finance, and adaptation measures, Saier explained. But even reaching targets may only reduce emissions by 60 percent of what is needed to prevent rising temperatures, reports a December UNFCCC document. [ http://unfccc.int/files/press/news_room/press_releases_and_advisories/application/pdf/pr_20102012_cuts_and_launch.pdf ] "In Cancun, governments renewed their trust in each other, but to succeed fully they need to press boldly ahead with what they have agreed," said Christiana Figueres, UNFCCC chief. The next session to finalize the agenda will be held from 6-17 of June in Bonn. dm/ds/mw © IRIN. All rights reserved. More humanitarian news and analysis: http://www.IRINnews.org