Brussels, 16/03/2010 (Agence Europe) - On the occasion of their first meeting since the Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change (COP 15), EU27 environment ministers, who met in Brussels on Monday 15 March, discussed preparations for the Cancún conference with their Mexican counterpart, Juan Rafael Elvira Quesada, who is to host the event (29 November-10 December). Quesada told EU ministers that he expected the EU to make €2.4 billion available each year from 2010 on, as pledged (€50 million of this will be borne by the European Commission) for funding the rapid implementation of adaptation and mitigation in developing countries.
The resolve shown by the future COP 16 president to work towards concrete results in Cancún mirrored that of European ministers. The latter also agreed between themselves on the strategy to be followed by the Union in order to give fresh impetus to the international talks and to achieve what was not achieved in Copenhagen. Conclusions adopted by the European Council will be submitted to the European Council on 25 and 26 March to promote short term funding, given that each member state is doing what it can to release funding pledged. Elena Espinosa, the Spanish minister who chaired the work, asserted this was so when speaking to the press. She was delighted that the EU had reiterated its commitment to cut emissions by 2020 and that the “very constructive” debate had highlighted the resolve of the EU to be a leader in combating climate change. “The EU wants to cooperate as much as possible with Mexico to ensure the Cancún conference is a success”, she said.
Speaking of what she described as a “frank discussion on ways to move forward”, Connie Hedegaard, European Commission for climate action, was pleased with the “very positive” welcome reserved by ministers for the post-Copenhagen strategy proposed on 9 March by the European Commission (EUROPE 10094) to identify common ground and possible alliances with non-EU countries in order to gradually move forward to an international agreement which, given the resistance on the part of some countries, may not become binding until 2011 during the COP 16 in South Africa rather than in Cancún. “This stage by stage approach is the way to ensure specific deliverables are obtained”, she said, saying they wished to do everything in their power to integrate the Copenhagen agreement in future discussions - not only mechanisms for commitment ratio and verification (MRV) but also the 2°C target, and for financing to be rapidly implemented. The EU, she said is ready to keep its pledges. However, progress must be made on adaptation, on technology transfer, and on mechanisms to combat deforestation and forest degradation. Hedegaard said they would “do everything possible to help the Mexican presidency to get these specific deliverables”.
Unanimous conclusions on the follow-up to the Copenhagen conference confirm the EU's level of ambition with regard to goals for mitigation of global warming, including its conditional offer to increase emissions reduction from 20 to 30% (compared to 1990) by 2020 if the other parties make a comparable effort in relation to their responsibilities and respective capacities. The Council mandates the European Commission to assess, in close cooperation with member states, the comparability of the quantified economy-wide emissions targets by third countries as notified to the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The European Commission is also invited to update, by June 2020, the impact assessment in view of the EU's move to a 30% emission reduction commitment which, because of the economic recession, should cost less than what was calculated when such objectives were adopted by the EU.
The Commission is also invited to submit by 30 June 2010 an analytical report, assessing the situation with regard to energy-intensive sectors or sub-sectors that have been determined to be exposed to significant risks of carbon leakage in third countries, that do not have an ambitious policy against climate change, and, where necessary, to propose measures necessary so that the EU does not bear the cost of unfair competition. Although the Council still recognises that the best way to avoid the risk of relocation is to reach a binding climate agreement by 2013, it hopes that provisions of the directive on the emissions trading system (ETS) will be respected, providing the possibility to adopt measures to protect the sectors and sub-sectors. The Council recognises it would be of interest to carry out an impact assessment study on the European agricultural sector.
The Council underlines how urgent it is to immediately implement the Copenhagen Accord on adaptation to climate change, given that priority must be given to the most vulnerable developing countries, and in particular to the least developed countries, the small insular states and the countries of Africa. It points out that the EU and its member states are ready to present a preliminary state of play concerning the €2.4 billion annually pledged by the EU (€7.2 billion for the period 2010-2012) during the UNFCC session in Bonn (31 May to 11 June 2010) and submit EU-coordinated reports on the implementation of this commitment at the Cancún Climate Conference and thereafter on an annual basis, and encourages other contributors to so the same. The Council points out that the aim of long term financing in favour of developing countries is $100 billion annually as of 2020. (A.N./transl.jl)