There are a "set of decisions on substantial issues" that should be tackled in the lead up to December's global climate change conference in Mexico - in particular the issue of financing from developed nations for projects in developing countries, said European Union (EU) commissioner for climate action Connie Hedegaard.

In an interview with Engineering News Online, she explained that financing for projects that would assist in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in developing countries was one of the areas where agreements were reached at the Conference Of the Parties (COP) in Copenhagen in 2009, and now action on those agreements should take place.

"Developed countries pledged to deliver that, and I think it is absolutely crucial that, by Cancun, this money is not just money being pledged on the paper, but it is real money and they are starting to work out in the field," she stated.

She urged participants not to allow the momentum that was evident in the lead up to the Copenhagen conference in 2009, to be lost. She added that she hoped for a set of ambitious decisions following the Cancun conference in December.

She highlighted that the Copenhagen COP spurred significant movement from member countries, particularly noting that ahead of the conference, countries like South Korea, Mexico, Brazil, India, China, and Indonesia crafted domestic GHG emission reduction responses, which they were now implementing.

She also felt that progress was made in the area of forestry at the 2009 COP, and this was something that the conference in Cancun should conclude.

"What is probably difficult - because the parts that should be moving are not moving yet - is the question of future legal form, but then we would have liked to see that happen in Copenhagen, but the world was not ready for that, they did not want to compromise," Hedegaard said.

She said member states should agree on substantial issues at Cancun, and once those were agreed, the issue of the future form of the agreement could be addressed.

This could potentially take place in South Africa, where the COP will be held in December 2011.

"If we could have this set of decisions leading to specific actions done in Cancun, then of course one of the key challenges for the African presidency would be to solve this question of the legal form."

Hedegaard was in South Africa at the Fortune conference, which was held in Cape Town, and encouraged the influential delegates in attendance to start immediately with the transition to a low-carbon economy, by implementing energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies.

She did, however, reiterate the importance of getting an international deal on climate change, as this would speed up the transition, and assist in setting global targets.

"To drive innovation its important to agree on targets. I share the view that we should speed up international negotiations, give more priority to substance, don't waste as much time on process and procedures. We cannot afford to waste time and we know all the positions [of the member countries]."

"Now its time to find solutions, and its time to compromise, and then to deliver in the very practical line," she concluded.