Malta is seeking higher status under the Copenhagen climate change conference, in line with its responsibilities as a member of the European Union, the government said today.
Resources Minister George Pullicino is currently leading the Maltese delegation to the conference until Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi joins world leaders for its conclusion on December 17 and 18.
Officials from the Resources and Foreign Affairs Ministries took part in the initial stages of the conference.
One of the items on the agenda of the conference is Malta's proposal, issued jointly with the European Union, to amend its status under the Kyoto Protocol. While Malta is already a party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol, it is currently listed as a Non-Annex I party. The Convention distinguishes between industrialized countries and countries with economies in transition. The former are designated as Annex I parties with quantified emission limitations or reduction targets, whilst the latter are countries that are not listed in Annex I to the Convention and therefore do not have emission targets. Through the amendment tabled last week, Malta requested to be included among the Annex I parties.
Ambassador Victor Camilleri said that over the past 20 years Malta was instrumental in launching the initiative which culminated in 1992 with the adoption of the Framework Convention on Climate Change. In joining the Convention Malta assumed the status, commitments and obligations of a Non-Annex I party.
In 2004 Malta became a Member State of the European Union. As a consequence of membership, Malta assumed, under the EU internal legislation and common policies, reporting obligations on inventories, policies and measures and projections, that are as extensive as those of Annex I parties.
"For Malta, inclusion in Annex I constitutes a reaffirmation of its continuing political commitment with respect to a global problem that Malta itself placed on the United Nations agenda in 1988, in the spirit of the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities envisaged under the Convention. Such an inclusion also underlines Malta's readiness to pull its weight fairly in the post-2012 Climate Change regime," Mr Camilleri said.
Malta's Ambassador for Climate Change, Michael Zammit Cutajar is playing a key role in the conference as he is currently chairing one of the Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action.
In 1991, Ambassador Zammit Cutajar was assigned to set up the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and headed it until his retirement early in 2002, holding the rank of Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations. The two ad-hoc working groups convening during the Climate Change Conference are instrumental in drafting texts which will be the basis for discussions during the High Level Segment later this week.