Environment ministers of leading industrialised nations (G-8) and emerging economies adopted Syracuse Charter on protecting biodiversity after a three-day meeting held in Syracuse city, Sicily, Italy on April 24. However, no further agreement on reducing greenhouse gases emissions had been achieved.
The 25-point Syracuse Charter underlines economic values of biodiversity, links preserving biodiversity to the fight against global warming and confirms "protecting biodiversity and maintaining natural biosystems play key roles in harmonising global climate".
According to the participants, biodiversity has been received inappropriate care, which should be changed as soon as possible, since nations whatever they are industrialised or developing could consider biodiversity as an advantage for economic development.
Environment minister of the Czech Republic Martin Bursik said this was the best occasion to launch a message: Biodiversity should be one of the top priorities in global environment agenda.
The participants also discussed a new agreement on cutting greenhouse gases emissions to replace Kyoto Protocol which was signed in 1997 and is about to be invalid in 2012. The new agreement is expected to be signed at the 15th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15) in Copenhagen, Denmark end of this year. However, there is still considerable divergence in some issues such as quotas for each country's reduction of greenhouse gases emissions and sources of finance for developing countries to improve production technologies.
Source: Vietnamplus (VNA)
Edited and translated by TITC