By Marc Burleigh
Port of Spain - Hopes were rising on Saturday that a new global climate pact is within reach after rich nations at a Commonwealth summit offered to help poorer countries bear the costs of implementing any deal.
The 53-nation body embracing major global players like Britain, Australia and India, and smaller island states like Nauru and the Maldives, were expected to issue a joint commitment to tackling climate change.
"Success in Copenhagen is in sight," said UN chief Ban Ki-moon, referring to the climate negotiations in the Danish capital December 7-18.
He and Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen, who both made a rare address to the Commonwealth even though they are not members, praised a move by Britain and France to launch a $10-billion fund for developing nations.
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By showing willingness to meet "the need for money on the table," it was now "realistic" to expect Copenhagen to result in the framework for a treaty to succeed the Kyoto Protocol that expires in 2012, Rasmussen said.
"We should use the momentum out there and convert this momentum into an ambitious deal in Copenhagen."
But he stressed the deal to be hammered out by some 87 leaders including US President Barack Obama must include "commitments, numbers and precise language."
Ban, who has led the push towards Copenhagen, agreed it must not become just another talking shop, saying: "We will come out with a very concrete foundation for a legally binding treaty."
The sudden optimism contrasted sharply with predictions of failure at the climate talks as recently as two weeks ago.
Much of that stemmed from a joint overture by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy at the Commonwealth gathering, whose leaders represent two billion people, or a third of the planet's population.
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