PM Lee to attend UN climate meet, urges Commonwealth to engage in issue
By Imelda Saad, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 28 November 2009 1127 hrs

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TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO: Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Friday urged members to actively engage in the issue of climate change at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Trinidad and Tobago.

The Commonwealth gathering is the last international meeting before the Copenhagen summit next month.

Reflecting the urgency in talks, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Denmark's Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen have all made their way to Trinidad.

The Commonwealth Summit is on the back of a post-crisis landscape and at a time when world leaders are struggling to reach a global consensus on climate change.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II opened the meeting, and said the Commonwealth has an opportunity to shape world response to the challenge.

"The Commonwealth has an opportunity to lead once more. The threat to our environment is not a new concern, but it is now a global challenge which will continue to affect the security and stability of millions for years to come," said the Queen, who is also Commonwealth Head.

"Many of those affected are among the most vulnerable, and many of the people least well able to withstand the adverse effects of Climate Change live in the Commonwealth."

Speaking at the leaders' retreat, PM Lee said countries should do what is practical and sensible, keeping in mind the costs, trade-offs and political realities.

He added Singapore will do its part but developed countries will have to take the lead because they are major emitters of carbon.

Island states, he noted, are particularly worried about rising sea levels.

Mr Lee said developing nations must too share in this effort as their populations are equally, if not more vulnerable.

The Commonwealth includes countries such as Australia, Canada, India, South Africa and Britain - important members of the Group of 20 (G20).

Analysts will look to statements from the Commonwealth as an indicator of what the more influential G20 may reach on climate change.

The 53-member Commonwealth is a diverse group, and includes some of the world's richest and poorest countries, accounting for one-third of the world's population and one-fifth of global trade.

PM Lee is set to attend next month's UN meeting on climate change in Copenhagen.

Leaders will try to agree on a pact to reduce carbon emissions during the Copenhagen meet.

Whether that will take the form of a legal treaty or a mere political declaration remains to be seen, but what leaders want is a significant agreement to reduce the ill effects of climate change.

- CNA/yb