“Perfect” agreement not possible in Copenhagen: Lula, Merkel

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday played down people’s hopes for the upcoming UN climate change conference in Copenhagen, saying a “perfect” agreement might not be reached.

Reports reaching here from Berlin said both leaders stressed the necessity for the summit to produce “robust, balanced and fair results” to curb global warming.

“I think we will not make the agreement of our dreams,” President Lula da Silva told a joint conference with Merkel in Berlin.

He added that the targets provided by countries depend on respective domestic policies.

Carbon emissions reduction is a new theme, he explained, and that till now, the international community has not reached a consensus on the issue. But he was confident that participants of the summit will take an important step forward.

Following Lula, Merkel said she hoped the conference in Copenhagen could make crucial progress on climate change, though “it won’t be ideal.”

The two leaders also exchanged views on who should do more to fight climate change.

Lula insisted on technology transfer and financial assistance from developed nations.

“There must be an understanding of the necessity of technology transfer and financing so that poorer countries can grow without polluting the earth as we had done,” he said.

For her part, Chancellor Merkel called for greater involvement of emerging countries and pledged that European Union countries would help big emerging economies “financially and technologically.”