Africa May Veto Climate Change Deal: Ethiopian PM

Africa will veto any climate change deal that does not meet its demand for money from rich nations to cut the impact of global warming on the continent, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said on Thursday.

“We will use our numbers to delegitimize any agreement that is not consistent with our minimal position,” Meles told a conference of climate change experts in Addis Ababa.
“If needs be we are prepared to walk out of any negotiations that threaten to be another rape of our continent.”

Meles did not say how much money Africa would be looking for in Denmark but some experts have said the continent should ask for up to $200 billion a year.

Africa contributes little to the pollution blamed for warming but is the hardest hit by the drought and flooding cycle that is already affecting parts of the continent.

Ten African leaders last month held talks at the African U-nion (AU) headquarters in the Ethiopian capital and agreed on a common stance ahead of the Copenhagen talks.

Planet Ark