Brussels, 15/03/2010 (Agence Europe) - Mexican Environment Minister Juan Rafael Elvira Quesada, in Brussels on Monday 15 March to set out for the Environment Council his vision and the preparations being made for the Cancún climate conference (COP 16, 29 November-10 December), is listening to every country and expects rich countries, including those in the EU, to send clear signals to developing countries, without waiting for the decision of the US Congress, on the funding promised them in the Copenhagen Accord ($30 billion over three years, or $10 billion per year between 2010 and 2012, with 20% for forests). It is on this condition, he said, that the international community can hope in Cancún to achieve tangible results and operational decisions on the objectives that all want to reach, even if it means agreeing later on the legal form of the international agreement which will govern the fight against climate change after 2012. The Mexican minister spelled it out clearly for press in Brussels before joining his EU counterparts. He did not try to hide that Mexico, as one of the BASIC countries, would try to build bridges between the North and the South to get concrete results. Working with Africa, Asia, and Europe was his priority. In Cancún, the operational decisions should “show that the world is able to work to maintain its forest through the REDD+ mechanism and the transfer of funding from rich to poor countries. Developing countries want this transfer for adaptation. Small island states are waiting for it,” he said. Between now and June or July, he will seek to set out for all stakeholders the hoped-for objectives in Cancún, so that all parties can work together for the same ends. At this point, Cancún is likely to be a meeting of the world's environment ministers. “It's a first step. We are not talking about heads of state being present,” Elvira Quesada said. (A.N./transl.rt)