Brussels, 24/10/2012 (Agence Europe) - Will the Environment Council which meets in Luxembourg on Thursday 25 October manage to adopt unanimous conclusions on the position which the EU will take at the climate conference in Doha (COP 18, 26 November-7 December)? This is the dearest wish of the Cypriot Presidency, but the question deserves to be asked given Poland's determination to defend the right tooth and nail of using its hot air surplus (units of attributed quantities known as AAU) beyond 2012, when the second period of Kyoto Protocol commitment begins. It is on the Doha preparation that the discussions will, for sure, be extremely arduous and long. “All the possibilities for compromise will be used. No other meeting is planned for reaching an agreement on the united EU position because we must go to Doha with a final position and be in a position of strength. The lack of a common position would be a very bad sign to the rest of the world”, a European source stated on Tuesday, excluding the possibility of a change to the voting modalities (by majority rather than by unanimity, as the WWF demands) in order “not to open Pandora's box”. The Doha question will be tackled at lunch and discussion will follow in the afternoon. The morning will be dedicated to environmental questions and should enable - besides the orientation debate on ship recycling - the adoption of conclusions on the follow up to the Rio Plus 20 conference on sustainable development.
The work will be chaired by Sofoclis Aletraris. Commissioner for the Environment Janez Potocnik and Commissioner for Climate Action Connie Hedegaard will relay each other half way through.
Preparations for Doha. The Council will try hard to adopt conclusions. The draft being tabled stresses the EU's resolve to play its role of leader and the need to maintain the balance of the Durban package while making progress on all its elements and bringing an end to the examination of questions in suspense in order to adopt a second commitment period to Kyoto. The questions still open are on: (1) the AAU because Poland rejects binding messages on the management reserved for the surplus; (2) the financing of developing countries' efforts through innovative sources of financing (in order not to prejudge the discussion planned in the Ecofin Council in November).
Ship recycling. Guided by a Presidency questionnaire, the ministers will have an orientation debate on the effectiveness and feasibility of the new regulation proposed in March which aims only to allow the dismantling of European-flagged ships in facilities that are safe for workers and environmentally sound, and to transpose (by going further) the Hong Kong Convention on the safe and environmentally sound recycling of ships (see EUROPE 10581).
Follow-up of Rio Plus 20: the Council is to adopt conclusions.
ETS aviation: The European Commission will brief the Council on the state of progress of its talks with the third countries that challenge the inclusion of civilian aviation in the EU directive on the emissions quota trading system (ETS) and threaten the EU with retaliatory trade measures (Russia and India being far more rigid than the United States and China). This stock-taking will be welcome as the meeting of the administrative board of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) draws nearer, being scheduled for the first half of November, at which talks must progress on a comprehensive agreement aimed at reducing emissions of the aviation sector on the basis of market measures.
ETS reform: At the request of the Polish delegation, the Commission will present to Council the three solutions that it is contemplating - the setting aside of 100, 900 or 1,200 million tonnes in surplus quotas for short term reform of ETS (see EUROPE 10663). Public consultation ended on 16 October, and the results of the impact study are expected for 14 November. (AN/transl.fl/jl)