COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Connie Hedegaard, president of the climate change negotiations here yesterday sought to reassure the world of efforts to realise a deal that represents the interests of all 193 countries involved in the process.

“I believe that citizens out there might [see] a discrepancy between their own efforts and call for action and the things they hear coming out of the plenary and out of the conference,” Hedegaard said, adding that Monday had been a difficult day.

It was on Monday that the Africa Group staged a walkout, refusing to participate further in any discussions on long-term co-operative action until developed country parties agreed to begin negotiations on the Kyoto Protocol and more particularly, new and/or greater greenhouse gas emissions cuts. The move was supported by the Alliance of Small Island States, Least Developed Countries and individual countries, making it a Group of 77 and China position, even as it heralded informal consultations.

But yesterday, Hedegaard told onlookers not to be discouraged by the development.

“It is perfectly normal at conferences like this for a lot for procedural things to be going on… If you dig under the surface of what happened Monday, we actually managed to get ministers down to work,” noted the woman who is also Denmark’s minister of climate and environment.

She added that such ministers, more of whom will join the discussions today, were now determined to hammer out the details of the critical areas being looked at — adaptation, mitigation, financing, technology transfer, reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation, and capacity-building.

“So far we have progressed alright in the first 10 days but it is very clear that ministers have to be busy and focused over the next 48 hours if we are to make the success that we are to make,” she said.

Executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention, Yvo de Boer, supported Hedegaard’s statements. He noted that the final days of talks would not be easy.

“I would agree that we are at a very distinct and important moment in the process. We have seen distinct progress… There is still an enormous amount of ground to be covered if it is to deliver what people around the world expect it to deliver,” de Boer said.

He noted that what is expected to be delivered include, among other things, robust financing and significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions which is fuelling the warming of earth.

But to get there, hard work and a willingness to compromise will be required.

“You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink. I think that what the minister [Hedegaard] has been doing is bringing 192 [193 as at December 10 with the inclusion of Somalia] horses to water… Everything that conceivably can be done has been done on the part of the Danish Government… but you can’t, at the end of the day, make the horse drink. Now it is the turn of world leaders to ensure that we get a result here,” the UNFCCC boss said.

At the same time, he said that whatever is agreed is to reflect the interest of all involved.

“This process is not about ramming the interest of a few down the throats of many. This process is about addressing the concerns of many and that is why it is so complicated,” de Boer said.

But what makes the process complicated, he noted, is that all parties have their particular concerns.

“You have small islands states who are about to disappear… oil producers who are concerned by [their] economy… industrialised nations worried about losing jobs… fast developing countries looking at poverty eradication,” de Boer said.

The two were speaking ahead of the official opening of the high-level segment of the talks, which will see ministers and heads of states putting pen to paper, hopefully, for a comprehensive and legally binding document.