BEIRUT: Lebanon publicly presented its climate change stance Wednesday ahead of the United Nation’s climate conference in Mexico next week.

The country is vowing to play an integral part in the negotiations to establish an international climate treaty and push for the adoption of a “fair and comprehensive deal” where a just “burden would have to be met by developed countries.”

It will also urge the “transformation of [the] global economy based on the principles of common but different responsibilities and respective capacities,” said Lea Kai, part of the Environment Ministry delegation attending the two-week conference.

The policy was unveiled in the presence of various European ambassadors at a seminar organized by IndyAct, an environmental umbrella organization.

Lebanon’s climate position does not differ significantly from that of many developing countries but the affirmation of clear objectives suggests the country will play a more prominent part in the upcoming negotiations and not be intimidated by larger, oil-rich Arab states.

“In the Arab League Saudi Arabia has long been the main negotiator but Egypt is gaining in prominence and [we are] working closely with them to work out an Arab position,” said Kai. “We are being very loud and very active in our position.”

Representatives from some 194 countries are set to meet in Cancun for the latest instalment of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that evaluates climate change science and aims to establish an international climate treaty.

Lebanon has no official emission commitments under the UNFCCC but as a small country, and one hard-hit by climate change, it has a lot riding on the successful conclusion of a deal.

According to Environment Ministry studies, by 2040 the country could witness a temperature increase of between 1.5 and 3 degrees Celsius and an associated 45 percent decrease in precipitation.

“During the last year the seasons have changed …[and] we have noticed that there is not enough snow or rain,” said Environment Ministry representative Vahakn Kabakian.

Lebanon’s contribution may be small, but “it is also responsible for making necessary steps … and has a duty to decrease pollution, find alternative energy sources and benefit from wind for electricity generation,” he said.

The Mexico meet is the follow-up to last year’s much-publicized UNFCCC Copenhagen summit where world leaders famously failed to agree on a common policy.

Negotiations disintegrated due to differences between rich and poor countries, divided over who should foot the bill, with the big emitters, namely China and the US, also refusing to commit to meaningful binding restrictions.

“A major reason [Copenhagen] did not deliver on high expectations was a lack of political will,” British Ambassador Frances Guy said at the event. “Many in the developing countries saw a gap between the words and deeds of the industrialized economies.

“It is for us in the developed world to answer those questions.”

The formation of a temporary $10 billion climate fund for the period 2010-2012 was agreed upon, but, many developing countries claim they have not yet received any funding.

Although hope of reaching a comprehensive deal in Mexico remains low, the broad terms of an agreement, have been set. Lebanon – alongside most other countries – officially endorses limiting a global temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius, widely considered as the cut-off point after which the effects of global warming would become dangerous and potentially irreversible.

To have any chance of meeting this target, however, a breakthrough needs to take place in Cancun, or at next year’s meeting in South Africa, before the expiration of the current global emissions regime, as outlined by the Kyoto protocol, in 2012.

“We lost at Copenhagen and now we face the prospect of losing the negotiation process,” said IndyAct executive director Wael Hmaidan. “We worry governments will look elsewhere … this will be a disaster for developing countries, especially small countries like Lebanon, which will be left out from negotiations.”