Adianto P. Simamora
THE JAKARTA POST/COPENHAGEN

Negotiators from developing and developed countries have called for a new legally binding treaty in the Dec. 7-18 UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in a bid to respond to activist demands that the conference seals a deal.

However, Canada, Iceland, Japan, Kazakhstan, New Zealand, Norway, the United States and Australia, referred to as the ""umbrella group"", offered to settle for an accord rather than a treaty.""This vision would be a Copenhagen accord,"" Louise Hand, the Australian ambassador for climate change representing the group, said.

She said the Copenhagen climate talks should agree a global vision for climate action up to 2012 and beyond. ""This vision should cover all aspects of the road map that we already set in Bali two years ago. Mitigation, adaptation, finance and technology cooperation are necessary for a successful post-2012 outcome.""

Ambassador Dessima Williams of Grenada, representing the Alliance of Small Island State (AO-SIS), insisted the Copenhagen talks should result in a legally binding outcome.""If a legally binding outcome is not achieved, then we dont accept a political agreement which will not be adequate and we will have to consider our options"" she said.

""Small island states are going under water; we are losing our territorial integrity and facing increased poverty. We stand to lose the most if nothing happens here.""Williams said a legally binding instrument on climate change was fully achievable.

""We believe the time is now. Not later, but now,"" she said. Meanwhile, the G77 group of developing countries said the Copenhagen talks should fulfill the mandate adopted under the Bali action plan.

Sudanese Ambassador Ibrahim Mirghani Ibrahim, representing the G77, said the group rejected any attempts from developed countries to shift the responsibilities of addressing climate change to developing nations.

""We reject another legally binding instrument that will rule out the obligations of developed nations under the Kyoto Protocol and similar actions from developing countries.""The 2007 Bali action plan required the Copenhagen talks to set a new target on emissions cuts that would be led by developed nations.

A study by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said these countries have to reduce carbon emissions by 25 to 40 percent by 2020 from 1990 levels. Rich nations, however, have repeatedly called on developing countries to also take part in voluntary emissions cuts.

Due to the tough talks, both developed and developing countries are likely to issue a politically binding agreement before the planned meeting in June 2010 to adopt a legally binding treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocols first commitment that will end in 2012.

Indonesian chief negotiator Rachmat Witoelar said the country has a duty to defend the Bali action plan in Copenhagen in a bid to get an emission reduction figure from rich countries.""We still hope for an ambitious target in Copenhagen,"" he said.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) said this was the moment for governments to make a robust commitment and timeline toward achieving a post 2012 deal on climate change.

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) said the Copenhagen talks should come up with a fair, ambitious and binding global deal.Greenpeace called on conference participants to agree to a legally binding deal that included a 40 percent emission reduction by rich nations.