Brussels, 06/10/2010 (Agence Europe) - Although all eyes are focusing on China and the US, the countries upon which a large part of any progress depends in the most recent ongoing climate negotiations (Tianjin, 4-9 October) before the UN conference in Cancún (29 November, 10 December), the European Union continues to make a spirited appeal for a 30% reduction in CO2 emissions from all industrialised countries up to 2020 (compared to 1990 levels) and comparable efforts to be made by emerging countries, which is not just possible but also necessary, if the global challenge of global warming and low carbon sustainable economic growth is to be met.
Connie Hedegaard, the European commissioner for climate action, repeated this message on Wednesday 6 October during a speech to the International European Movement at the Belgian senate, where she was outlining the EU's position for the Cancún conference. The commissioner considers that this will provide an opportunity for the EU to reiterate that it is prepared to shift from a unilateral 20% reduction in its emissions to 30% “if other major economies agree to share the global effort” in maintaining temperature rises to below 2 degrees Celsius. She explained that Europe wanted to obtain ambitious global agreements in terms of international and legally binding participation because this is what the climate needed. She said that this involved “a wake-up call” to the international community.
Joe Leinen MEP (S&D, Germany), defended the ambitious position adopted the day before by the EP environment committee over which he presides and which is contained in a draft resolution calling on the EU to opt for the high part of the commitment band (30% reduction in its emissions). He said this was in the EU's own interest and would help obtain decisive progress at Cancún. “If the EU is not a leader in climate protection, it will be a loser in terms of economic growth. It is in the interest of the EU to increase its offer to 30% and in the interest of vulnerable developing countries that it respects its financial commitments to them”.
This is the message in the draft resolution adopted by 325 votes (20 against, with one abstention). The European Parliament will also be requested to give its verdict on the text before the end of October. No matter what the result is, the speeches by Joe Leinen and Connie Hedegaard are likely to please Christiana Figueres, the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC), who began the negotiating session in Tianjin by calling on all the world's governments to urgently find common ground on which they could adopt action on energy and obtain concrete results at Cancún, in order to regain confidence in the different parties' willingness to go further in the negotiations. (A.N./transl.fl)