As Ministers of the Brazil, South Africa, India, China (Basic) grouping met to firm their position before further global climate change negotiating sessions, they reiterated that a second commitment period to the Kyoto Protocol was central to a comprehensive outcome at the 17th conference of the parties (COP17) in Durban in November, and December.

They added that the legally binding Kyoto Protocol, which outlined greenhouse gas emission reduction targets for developed country signatories, was critical to the environmental integrity of the climate change regime.

The first commitment period to the Kyoto Protocol ends in 2012, and there is not yet any clarity on how the protocol will be taken forward, if at all.

The Basic Ministers met over the weekend in Durban after climate change experts and negotiators from these countries held meetings for the two days prior. Officials attending the meeting included Water and Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa, Chinese National Development and Reform vice-chairperson Liu Zhenmin, Indian Environment and Forests special secretary JM Mauskar, and Brazilian Environment Ministry Deputy Minister Francisco Gaetani, and incoming COP17 president Maite Nkoane-Mashabane.

Priorities on the road to COP17 in Durban were discussed, and Ministers emphasised that adaptation to climate change, specifically by least developed countries, which were expected to be most impacted by the effects of climate change, should be as central to the negotiations as mitigation.

“This has to be reflected in the structures being designed for financial and technology transfer support,” said the officials in a joint statement issued on Sunday.

Financial issues were predominant at the meeting, and officials considered work by experts on the need for transparent accounting for finance by Annex I Parties.

A proposal was made to consider the possibility of creating a fund supported by Basic countries to stimulate research, providing evidence on climate change issues. This analysis could be developed by institutions from Basic countries and other countries from the group of 77 and China.

Officials also said that a common reporting format for funding must be considerably enhanced, and that this would require further work by negotiators and experts, to ensure that accounting for finance by all developed countries was consistent, complete, comparable, transparent and accurate.

It was noted that solutions on disbursement of finance were urgently needed, to enhance trust. Ministers said the United Nations Framework Convention of Climate Change Secretariat should publish information on funding that had already been disbursed under ‘fast-start finance’, which was provided by developed countries, since it was a commitment made under a multilateral agreement.

The need for work on monitoring, reporting and verification, at expert and negotiator level was also identified.

Ministers also called for the rapid operationalisation of the institutions agreed on at the Cancun meeting, such as the adaptation committee, the technology executive committee, centre and network, the registry, the work programme on the response measure forum and the green climate fund.

A transitional committee to establish the green climate fund has already been formed, and hoped to have the fund in working order by the time COP17 starts.

The Ministers emphasised the importance of rebuilding trust and strengthening the multilateral system, and stressed that unilateral approaches, such as the inclusion of emissions from the aviation sector in the European Union emissions trading scheme, or establishing unilateral carbon accounting rules, were harmful to multilateralism, and not in line with the provisions of the Convention.

The next Basic Ministerial meeting was scheduled for August, and would be held in Brazil.

COP 17 will be held from November 28 to December 9 in Durban.