17 January 2008

On 17 January, in Bonn, Germany, the Host Country Agreement was signed on the organization of the Climate Conference in Poznan

On 17 January, in Bonn, Germany, Professor Maciej Nowicki, Polish Environmental Minister, and Mr. Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, signed the Host Country Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Poland and the UNFCCC Secretariat concerning organization in Poznan, Poland, of the UNFCCC 14th Conference of the Parties serving also as the 4th Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol that is to be held on 1-12 December 2008 in the City of Poznan, Poland.

During the signing ceremony Minister Maciej Nowicki emphasised that the Poznan Conference will be a milestone on the way to common agreement concerning international legal regulations setting out the States’ commitments beyond 2012 those are to be adopted during the 14th COP, to be held in Copenhagen, in 2009. 

"Poznan will be a critical point as regards reaching common consensus on the importance of technical and financial instruments, as required for effective actions to be undertaken with the aim of slowing and mitigating climate change" – said Mr. Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC.