The Australian ambassador for climate change, Justin Lee, has expressed his optimism ahead of the global climate change conference to be hosted by Qatar later this year, saying that the meeting would focus on the implementation of initiatives which have been agreed at earlier conferences.
The 18th Conference of the Parties (COP18) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the 8th Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP8) will be held at the Qatar National Convention Center in November, where officials, ministers and NGOs will discuss how best to adopt and develop proposals on climate change
Lee is currently in Qatar to examine the logistical and administrative requirements for the conference, which could see between 50 and 60 delegates from Australia attending. He expressed his belief that this year's forum should see multilateral negotiations advance towards an agreement on long-term solutions for climate change.
He explained that negotiations are currently leading towards the development of an agreement in 2015 which will then be implemented from 2020.
"We had a very positive outcome in Durban last year and we agreed to discuss a legally binding agreement which will take effect from 2020," Lee told Gulf Times yesterday.
While there are bound to be difficulties in negotiating the highly technical and policies and proposals, Lee is optimistic that meaningful discussions will be held, and he has been impressed by the facilities in Qatar.
"The QNCC is a fantastic venue and I have full confidence that Qatar will host a wonderful conference and a very productive meeting," he said, adding "there will be a large number of people here so the co-ordination of the venue is very important."
Australia has recently introduced a carbon pricing initiative, the 'Clean Energy Future Package' which charges companies based on their environmental impact. Lee explained that the revenue generated by the new initiative, which was introduced on July 1 this year, will be spent on developing renewable energy sources for the future.
Although Lee explained that he is unwilling to advise other governments as to how they should deal with climate change, he said that he hopes that countries can engage in technical exchanges to help them develop innovative and effective solutions to problems associated with climate change.
"Countries have to do what is right for them, but I hope that they can adopt ambitious plans," he said, adding "at this meeting we need to implement plans and keep things moving forward."
"In Australia we have shown that we are committed to the issue of climate change, and we are willing to help the rest of the world in this regard, he added.