Brussels, 28/11/2012 (Agence Europe) - Connie Hedegaard, the European Commissioner for climate action admitted that the ongoing climate conference in Doha (COP 18 - 26 November-7 December) would not be any thing spectacular, but that there were many different areas in which they needed to conclude their work. On Wednesday 28 November in Brussels, speaking to the press, she emphasised the importance of making a commitment to the second eight-year period of the Kyoto Protocol. She said that she hoped that she would leave Doha after having built a bridge between the old two-tiered negotiations system and that for the one tier. The long-term cooperation aspect should effectively be concluded in Doha. The Commissioner also declared that a link would be established “by those, like us, who are making a commitment to a second period of Kyoto”.
Following the signing of the US anti-ETS legislation by president Obama, Hedegaard explained that this decision would not lead to a different policy during the second legislature. “The signing of this agreement is closely related to the internal situation in Congress. I hope that in the long run, there will also be an internationally linked policy”. Although China, Brazil and developing countries expect a roadmap from the EU for long-term funding to help combat global warming ($100 billion a year to 2020), the Commissioner did not think that this would be possible at Doha. (AN/transl.fl)