Leaders From 45 Countries Meet in Bonn for Interim Climate Talks

At the beginning of a three-day international climate change conference in Bonn, hosts Germany and Mexico called on world leaders from 45 countries to refocus climate negotiations in order to get an agreement by the end of the year when negotiators meet in Cancun, Mexico, the Associated Press reported.

German Environment Minister Norbert Roettgen was quoted as saying: "We want to pave the way to a good result in Cancun," he said, adding that "nobody wants another big disappointment," referring to the U.N. international climate talks in Copenhagen last December. "The meeting will focus on six broad issues -- long-term goal, mitigation and measurement, reporting, verification (MRV), adaptation, finance, technology co-operation and reducing emissions from deforestation plus (REDD plus)," wrote the Economic Times.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon was quoting as saying: "We need to show the world how serious the threat is." German Chancellor Angela Merkel said: "We have to realize that we have quite a long way to go to reach the 2-degree-goal. Therefore we have to ascertain how we can reach our goals nonetheless." Roettgen said this interim meeting, the Petersberg Climate Dialogue, was designed to address some difficult issues and to build trust between poor and rich nations. AFP quoted Merkel as saying: "A preparatory job before Cancun will be to find a basis of trust for all countries that will be present in Cancun so that no one feels left out."

Roettgen called on the European Union to raise its goal for reducing GHGs from 20 percent to 30 percent by 2020, measured against emissions in 1990, AFP reported. Roettgen was quoted as saying: "The EU has good reasons, including economic ones, to rethink its current reduction offer." Switzerland's top climate negotiator, Jose Romero, was quoted as saying: "The EU has to push to 30 percent to create confidence -- it's one way to create credibility with the developed countries," AFP reported.