bhutan represents saarc at cop16 amid global worries of another failed summit

The million ngultrum question is whether poor countries including Bhutan will get more money to fight climate change risks
The sixteenth meet of the Conference of Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) began in the Cancun city of Mexico this week, raising questions whether this meet would just repeat the failure story at Copenhagen.
Last year’s Cop15 at Copenhagen did not conclude with the expected results as world leaders failed to create a legally binding framework for nations to address climate change. This time, countries have the opportunity to complete the unfinished business of COP 15 and are expected to design a long term climate solution.
While some countries made short-term commitments to support  mitigation and adaptation activities in developing countries at Cop15, Bhutan made a pledge to remain carbon neutral for all times to come.
This year at Cancun, Bhutan on behalf of the SAARC member states, will submit a common stand of the South Asian region.
Bhutan as the chair of the SAARC countries will convey the concerns of member states on adverse effects of climate change that threaten lives, sustainable development, and the very existence of some of the member states.
SAARC countries including Bhutan are expecting a concrete outcome for the effective implementation of the commitments made under the UNFCC, including the Kyoto Protocol and the Bali Action Plan.
SAARC will ask the international community to honor its commitments. Member states are committed to help global efforts to address the threat of climate change in spite of having contributed least to the problem.
“Any effort at addressing climate change must take into account historical responsibility and must be in accordance with the principles of the UNFCC, the Kyoto Protocol and the Bali Action Plan,” states the common stand.
SAARC will call on the international community to provide new resources easily accessible to tackle climate change, under a commitment of the developed countries to give at least 1.5% of their GDP for adaptation and mitigation.
SAARC also wants assistance for climate friendly technologies.
The Cancun meet aims to a timeline that puts the world on track for comprehensive post-2012 climate agreements because the Kyoto Protocol ends that year.
This timeline will feature social and environmental sustainable financing and initiate a process to establish clear guidelines for community and ecosystem-based adaptation solutions.The conference must establish legally binding agreements for this.
Delegations from 196 countries are joined by indigenous groups, non-governmental organizations, the private sector and other decision-makers.
Major pressure groups from different countries will inform and advice governments on scientific and policy expertise.