Brussels, 18/10/2010 (Agence Europe) - José Manuel Barroso, European Commission President, does not have any illusions - a global and binding post-2012 agreement will not be reached in Cancún (Mexico, 29 November-10 December). He does, however, have a clear idea of what he expects to come out of this sixteenth United Nations climate conference (COP 16) - an agreement on realistic decisions. He also expects the UN to maintain its level of ambition in order to be successful as hoped at a later date, in 2011, during COP 17.
Pipping the Environment Council of 14 October at the post at the risk of upsetting the ministers of this, the relevant sector-specific Council, he says as much in a letter to Herman Van Rompuy to prepare the European Council of 28 and 29 October that is to finalise the EU's negotiating stance (EUROPE 10237).
“The October European Council will be a very important opportunity to agree on a common message and to ensure that we can approach the forthcoming UNFCCC meeting in Cancún with a strong and coherent EU position”, Barroso writes. He thus alludes to the intra-European divisions that were the subject of Connie Hedegaard's complaint (when she was president of COP 15), analysing with sufficient hindsight the failure in Copenhagen last December and the fact that the EU had not been heard.
José Manuel Barroso takes the view that the EU has nothing to feel ashamed of as “our action to cut emissions is the most ambitious, and the most concrete, in the world”. He goes on: “Our position for Cancún should be confident, but at the same time realistic”. The EU's position must be confident in the objective pursued, which must remain intact, Barroso says. The EU position must “be built around our overriding goal of ensuring that climate change stays within a 2° rise in temperature. In order to achieve this, we need an internationally binding agreement to reduce emissions”.
The EU position must be realistic, the president feels, as, “while keeping this ambition, we also need to be aware that the conditions for such an agreement are not yet met”.
This presupposes “in parallel, we have to develop a more diversified approach to engaging with key partners that identifies areas of mutual interest where we can work together and that helps them to reduce their emissions”. Research and development, innovation in clean technology for energy efficiency and the development of renewable energies are, Barroso considers, the key elements of a unified European agenda. The EU, he points out, has “shown leadership on climate change, and the determination to translate this into action. Now we need to update and explain our common approach to send a strong message to our global partners. I look forward to our discussions in October on this important issue”. (A.N./transl.jl)