Brussels, 24/11/2011 (Agence Europe) - A roadmap with a clear timetable for achieving a globally binding climate agreement to come into effect by 2020 at the latest is, for the European Union, the least that the international community owes the climate, the planet and future generations if it is serious about the pledge made in Copenhagen to restrict average temperature increase to under 2° Celsius. For the global climate conference which begins in Durban, South Africa, in just a few days' time (COP 17, 28 November-9 December), the negotiating brief is clear, as is the level of its ambition: as formalised by the heads of state and government of the 27 member states on 26 October (EUROPE No 10484). Equally clear is the nub of the negotiations - extension of the Kyoto Protocol - and the responsibility on all of the major economies, without exception, on which European Climate Action Commissioner Connie Hedegaard chose to dwell in Brussels, on 24 November.
On that day, she set out for the press what is at stake in negotiations, what the EU is targeting in Durban and the over-riding need for the United States and the emerging economies to say finally when they intend to give commitments on the reduction of their greenhouse gas emissions.
“The EU is ready for a global treaty in Durban. But the reality is that other economies like the US and China are not. Let's be clear: The EU supports the Kyoto Protocol. But a second Kyoto period with only the EU, representing 11% of global emissions, is clearly not enough for the climate. This cannot constitute success in Durban. The key question is: when will others follow? Today's mutually interdependent world means global climate action from all. What is at stake at Durban is to go beyond Kyoto. So the EU could go for a second Kyoto period if we get reassurances from the other major emitters that they will follow. In Copenhagen leaders pledged to stay below 2°C. Now the time has come to show that they mean it”, Hedegaard said, stressing how important it is for China, Brazil, India and the United States to do so.
This is a matter of urgency as the commitments currently on the table amount to only 60% of the emissions reductions required to meet the 2°C target and alarming reports (from the IPCC, the IEA and the WMO) highlight the contrast between the increase in CO2 emissions and the increased frequency of extreme meteorological events, on the one hand, and the slowness of international negotiations, on the other.
The figures speak for themselves. The commissioner, indeed, quoted a few. The latest IEA World Energy Outlook shows that emissions are essentially due to coal-dependent emerging economies. In terms of emissions plotted against GDP, the EU is placed 25th in the world. If emissions are calculated per person, the EU stands at 8.1%, just ahead of South Africa (7.6%) and China (6.8%). And finally, among the top five emitters in 2009, China came first (24%), followed by the United States (18%), the EU (11%), India (5.4%) and Russia (5.25%).
Making clear that the EU is happy to accept a second Kyoto Protocol commitment period “though Japan, Russia and Canada are not committed”, Hedegaard gave two simple reasons to justify this conditional position: “Without conditions, not only would there be no additional emissions reductions, but the other countries could rest easy for the next few years, content to let Europe to all the work”. The roadmap the EU wants must contain a deadline by which the major emitters pledge to reduce their emissions by 2015 with a view to concluding a global, binding agreement by 2020 at the latest. “The legal value must be the same for all”, even though commitments will reflect the differing degrees of responsibility for global warming. “That will be the key question in Durban”, according to the commissioner. This question is one of particular importance to South Africa, the COP 17 host, and all developing countries.
Apart from this major issue, the EU hopes that Durban will bring progress in discussions to include maritime and air transport in the future agreement, to develop a programme on agriculture and to establish new market mechanisms, in particular sectoral agreements. Dialogue is continuing with third countries challenging the EU legislation which includes aviation in the ETS (emissions trading scheme), Hedegaard said. To those who ask her if the EU, sidelined in Copenhagen, still has any clout whatsoever in negotiations, the commissioner replies: “When we don't bring pressure to bear, Europe is criticised. It is those who refuse to change their positions who have to be criticised”. (AN/transl.rt)