BROWN: I'm speaking to you from a meeting of Commonwealth leaders in Trinidad and Tobago. This conference, opened by her majesty the Queen, has been discussing some of the great challenges the world now faces. And the Commonwealth is particularly important because it brings rich and poor nations together to find common purpose.
During this summit, we debated in detail the issue of climate change ahead of next month's crucial conference in Copenhagen. We're only a few minutes before midnight on climate change, we need to move quickly. Indeed we need a climate change agreement that prevents climate change refugees and climate change evacuees around the world. As the summit concluded I caught up with my friend, the Prime Minister of Australia, Kevin Rudd.
I think the great thing about the Commonwealth conference is that we could find nations that were rich and poor, nations that were facing directly now climate change and nations who were debating it but hadn't felt the full impact of it, all coming together to agree something that, you know, if a third of the world can agree at the Commonwealth conference, then perhaps the whole of the world can agree at Copenhagen.
PM: I think a lot of people, Gordon, in the past underestimate the unique nature of the Commonwealth voice, which is unlike most other organisations which are either geographic or functional in nature. This one represents a huge slice of the world's population, but from the whole development spectrum.
So we have a third of the world's population, we have the richest and the poorest, the largest and the smallest, and this is actually quite a remarkable declaration on climate change from this group of quite different nations, all desperate for action. And I think that's what's good about what's come out of this particular meeting of the Commonwealth.
BROWN: Well, I think the next stage is to find a financial agreement that everybody can accept, because we've got to recognise that if we're asking poor countries to take action against climate change, and they want to take action, we've got to provide some financial help for them to do so.
And I think we've got to make an offer that makes sense to their own experience and what they've got to do. But equally, we've got to get tougher action prepared to be taken by a number of countries who've still got to make announcements.
PM: That's true, and the clock is ticking on all that. But one positive step forward, I think, is your proposal, Britain's proposal, for the fast start finance. That obtained quite strong support here in Trinidad. It's reflected robustly in the language that we've adopted here today, also a slice of it - ten percent - for the small island states who are very vulnerable. That's one step along the way. The second step, of course, is climate change finance through to 2020 and, of course, real action in terms of targets and commitments from a number of countries who haven't stepped up to the plate yet.
BROWN: Well, I must say, Australia's done a great job because you've turned round Australian opinion from where it was, at a governmental level, and now Australia's leading the way. And I think if Copenhagen is going to be a success, as I believe it's got to be, then Australia deserves a great deal of credit for what you have done, and how you've persuaded other countries to act on the basis of you being prepared to act.
PM: Well, I think everyone's tried to put their shoulder to the wheel and there's still a whole lot to do. What's been very useful, I think, most recently we had a meeting in Singapore, the APEC meeting, and very quickly being able to bring together the Danish Prime Minister Rasmussen, the Chinese President Hu Jintao, President Obama and others, representing about 55% of the global economy, saying: 'Yes, we as political leaders have a responsibility to try and get this deal, this Copenhagen agreement.'
Add to that your own involvement as a friend of the Chair and the work you've been doing for a long time on long-term finance to underpin a Copenhagen agreement - look, I think the ingredients are there for us to get there.
BROWN: So it's crucial that we send a bold, cross-Commonwealth message on what needs to be done ahead of the talks in Copenhagen. But that's just part of the work we've done here. We've also talked about the global economy, about healthcare in the developing world, and Afghanistan. And I believe that the decisions we have made this weekend will influence what happens at the United Nations, the G20 and in every world summit.
The rest of the world should know that the Commonwealth stands together and is ready to act in a united way. So I can say to you, sixty years after its birth, this historic family of nations, which is the Commonwealth, is proving its worth.