Environmental policymakers from around the world on Tuesday confirmed their resolve to move forward with action on climate change at an upcoming U.N. conference in Doha, Qatar, at the end of the year.

They wrapped up their two-day meeting in Seoul in preparation for the 18th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, more widely called COP18.

It brought some 200 participants, including ministers from 50 countries and UNFCCC Executive Secretary-General Christiana Figueres.

“It was a chance for countries to deepen the understanding of others’ positions and identify key issues that should be decided at the Doha meeting,” Korea’s Environmental Ministry said in a press statement. 

Under the theme of “Meet the Challenge, Make the Change: Moving Forward with a Balanced Perspective,” the participants sought to lay groundwork on future discussions on the second commitment period of Kyoto Protocol, which starts next year, and a new climate regime that will replace it in 2020.

The Kyoto Protocol, which was adopted in 1997 in the Japanese city and took effect in 2005, sets binding obligations on advanced countries to cut their greenhouse gas emissions by 5.2 percent from the amount each recorded in 1990. The first phase of the commitment expires this year.

At last year’s COP17 meeting, countries agreed to switch to a new regime by 2020 under which all participating parties ― regardless of being rich or poor ― will be given mandatory emission cut targets. It is called the Durban Platform.

During the two-day meeting, the ministers also named the green economy as one of the tools to achieve sustainable development goals.

“In order to enhance mitigation ambition and achieve its goal, ministers encouraged (countries) to share their experiences on the formulation of low emission development strategies,” Abdullah Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah, deputy prime minister of Qatar, and Korean Environmental Minister Yoo Young-sook said in their co-Chairs’ reflections.

By Lee Sun-young (milaya@heraldcorp.com)