Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa on Tuesday urged the international community to address the challenge of climate change through long-term cooperative action.

The leaders of the five major developing countries met here on the sidelines of the ongoing G8 Summit and issued a joint declaration.

The leaders said in the declaration that cooperation in dealing with climate change should be conducted in accordance with the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its Kyoto Protocol, especially the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities.

They said in the declaration, "we take our responsibilities seriously and welcome the Bali Action Plan and the Bali Roadmap and are committed to the completion of negotiations by 2009."

The declaration stressed that negotiations for a shared vision on long-term cooperative action at the UNFCCC, including a long-term global goal for greenhouse gas emissions reductions, must be based on an equitable burden-sharing paradigm that ensures equal sustainable development potential for all citizens of the world and that takes into account historical responsibility and respective capabilities as a fair and just approach.

The leaders urged developed countries to take the lead in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and promote sustainable consumption patterns and lifestyles responsive to the mitigation requirement.

The declaration reads: "for developing countries, adaptation is of cardinal importance, particularly given their vulnerability, limited capacity and inadequate means."

It said affordable access is a key enabling condition for developing countries to tackle climate change.

The leaders called on the international community to work towards a strengthened scheme for technological innovation, development, transfer and deployment, and a comprehensive review of the intellectual property rights regime for such technologies in order to strike an adequate balance between rewards for innovators and the global public good.

The declaration also urged the developed countries to commit clearly to significant additional financing to support both mitigation and adaptation in developing countries.

(Xinhua News Agency July 9, 2008)