BASIC experts meet to focus on climate change

Climate experts and negotiators from four emerging economies -- Brazil, South Africa, India and China -- on Friday began discussions in Chennai on issues related to climate change.

On Saturday, Environment Ministers from these countries -- called BASIC group of nations -- will meet in Chennai to review the decisions taken at last year's Doha climate conference and plan future steps for taking the global process for an ambitious and equitable agreement under the Durban Platform, official sources said.

The meeting of ministers is preceded by the meeting of their experts and negotiators.

Important issues that will engage the attention of BASIC Ministers are principles under the Durban Platform, the role and relevance of independent international initiatives, including sectoral actions in promotion and achievement of global ambition, and the steps needed to ensure means of implementation to parties for enhancing their efforts, they said.

BASIC Group is a platform of the four

countries for coordination on issues related to climate change.

BASIC has emerged as an important grouping in the climate change negotiations, and has acted as a key voice of developing countries.

BASIC countries meet four times a year and once a year in each of the four countries by rotation.

Typically, the first meeting of the year takes place in India.

In line with the BASIC Plus approach, representatives of other important members of G-77 and China are attending the conference.

Bhutan (SAARC and Mountain), Mali (LDC and Africa), Argentina (Latin America), Fiji (G-77 Chair), Nauru (Small Island Developing States) and Qatar (CoP-18 Presidency) are also participating in the meeting, sources said.

India is a member of like minded developing countries who are meeting in Geneva on February 27-28, 2013, to review the decisions at Doha and plan the future steps.

The deliberations at the BASIC meeting will help India and other BASIC countries formulate their approach to future issues in the negotiations and help build ambitious and equitable architecture for post 2020 arrangements.