African leaders meeting in Ethiopia say they have agreed on an amount of money to demand as compensation for the impact of climate change.
However, they say they are keeping the figure secret ahead of December’s international talks in Copenhagen. The announcement came as a panel of 10 African nations met in Addis Ababa to finalize a common stance. The Ethiopian leader said Africa should be compensated for the damage caused by developed countries to its growth.
"We have set a minimum beyond which we will not go," Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said. "But I am not in a position to tell you what that minimum figure will be."
BBC Focus on Africa’s Uduak Amimo, in Addis Ababa, says the amount is expected to be tens of billions of dollars a year. The Kenyan and Ugandan presidents also attended the talks.
Next month’s United Nations summit in Denmark will try to agree on how to tackle climate change and secure a deal to supplant the existing Kyoto Protocol. African leaders say they are seeking a fair deal for the continent at the talks.
Developing nations have called for richer countries to reduce their emissions by 40% from 1990 levels by 2020, but so far there has been little enthusiasm for the suggestion. Studies show that African nations are the least responsible for carbon emissions but that they will suffer the most.
Source: BBC News
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