Brussels, 31/03/2011 (Agence Europe) - The European Union still wants to see an ambitious, binding, global climate deal reached for post-2012 when the current “commitment period” of the Kyoto Protocol comes to an end and wants to play a leading role in designing such a deal. EU27 environment ministers are convinced that the plan is well-founded, as they explained at a meeting of the Environment Council on 26 March in Gödöllõ, Hungary, but opinion differs on how to achieve this.
Tamas Fellegi, Hungary's national development minister, who had been chairing the meeting, told reporters that the EU27 had unanimously highlighted the importance of the EU acting in a concerted and proactive manner at the climate protection conference in Durban (COP 17, South Africa) at the end of the year. Pointing out that things had not been easy under Kyoto, EU Climate Action Commissioner Connie Hedegaard said that things would be even worse without an agreement and therefore the Kyoto commitment, the fruit of several years of negotiations, had to be kept up.
The Gödöllõ meeting provided an opportunity for an initial discussion about the strategy to be adopted because the conclusions document on post-Cancún (COP 16, December 2010) unveiled by the Environment Council on 14 March, do not mention the subject. The ministers reiterated the need for a global and legally binding deal for all big CO2 emitters. It is unlikely that an international agreement will be reached by the end of next year, however, and they said that even if a post-Kyoto agreement were to emerge, it was highly likely that it would include a several year transition period after the end of the Kyoto commitment period and before the new commitment period. Legally binding measures might therefore be needed for the transition period.
All the politicians agreed that better communication with developing countries was needed (the Kyoto Protocol does not include any binding target for them) but although seven countries (Germany, Denmark, Spain, Greece, Portugal, Sweden and the UK) are already recommending that the EU increases its offer (a 30% cut in emissions by 2020 on the 1990 level) without expecting other parties to make similar commitments (see EUROPE 10338), some ministers are suggesting negotiating strategies for any new EU commitments and measures to be taken if big emitters (like the United States, China and other emerging economies) refuse to commit. Some ministers pointed out the importance of the Environment Council in October 2011 clearly setting out the EU's view ahead of the next round of talks in South Africa.
The “roadmap to a low-carbon economy in 2050” (see EUROPE 10331) lists inexpensive measures to help the EU cut its CO2 emissions by 80-95% on the 1990 level and has generated a debate, setting out long-term objectives in two stages - a 40% cut by 2030 and 60% by 2040. (A.N./transl.fl)