Opinion

Brazil: hopes low for deal at Cancun conference

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-11-19 16:26

BRASILIA - Brazilian Minister of Foreign Affairs Celso Amorim said Tuesday his country has "modest" expectations of reaching significant agreements at the 2010 UN Climate Change Conference scheduled for November in Cancun, Mexico.

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According to the minister, major obstacles for an agreement are the lack of commitment by the United States and its reluctance to pass necessary legislations to ensure measures against global warming.

Despite his pessimism about reaching a global agreement, Amorim said there may be advances in the regulation of REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation).

Brazil will participate in the Cancun conference with a "high moral position," Amorim said. Brazil has tried to make a formal agreement together with other countries in Copenhagen last December.

"We do not hide behind anyone else. Brazil agrees with the 50 percent emission reduction by the year 2050, which goes far beyond what other countries accept," he said.