Bangladesh disappointed by draft treaty framed by India, China

The BASIC draft also referred to as the "Four Countries" draft does not address the main concerns of the low lying countries and the least developed countries

Several developing countries, including Bangladesh and Nepal, are “disappointed” by a draft of potential treaty on climate framed by the BASIC (India, China, Brazil and South Africa) group as they believe it does not address their concerns on climate change.

The BASIC draft also referred to as the “Four Countries” draft does not address the main concerns of the low lying countries and the least developed countries, according to negotiators of these countries who are attending the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference.

The critics of the BASIC proposal also noted that the document had not gained too much traction in the G77 group of developing nations.

“We are disappointed,” Saber Hossain Chowdhury, the leader of the Bangladesh Parliament Delegation to COP15, told PTI. “I think we need to talk a lot more on this.”

Asked if other G77 countries were also disappointed by the draft, Mr. Chowdhury said, “I can’t speak for them but I would not be surprised if they were.”

Bangladesh Environment Deputy Secretary S M Munjurul Hannan Khan said the BASIC draft did not satisfactorily address the vulnerabilities and preferential treatment of LDC’s including establishment an International Adaptation Centre.

The Joint Secretary of Nepal’s Ministry of Environment Uday Sharma, also expressed disappointment at the draft.

“There is no special consideration of low lying nations, least developed countries, AOSIS (Alliance of Small Island States) in the draft proposed by BASIC,” Mr. Khan told PTI.

“There is nothing specifically mentioned for addressing adaptation issue.”

The 12-day long conference kicked off yesterday with strong calls for action by Denmark’s Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, UN’s top scientist R K Pachauri and the UN’s top Climate Change official Yvo de Boer who specifically outlined the danger faced by Bangladesh and Small Island Countries.

Even before the negotiations officially started, an issue that emerged among several G77 nations was concern over the several drafts floating around including the BASIC draft and a Danish draft, which is also in the works.

Bangladesh is viewed as one of the countries, along with Small Island States that fear being submerged due to rising sea levels, which are most vulnerable to the climate threat.

“The main issue in the case of Bangladesh is adaptation first, and then technology transfer that should not be attached to the IPR (Intellectual Property Rights) issues but to aid in our adaptation needs,” Khan said.

“But in that draft there is nothing mentioned on this.”

“They have only specified their four countries’ issues and not taken other countries along with them,” he added.

Another delegation member, Quamrul Islam Chowdhury said that “most of the countries under ‘G 77 and China’ except those four countries oppose it.”