Brussels, 26/03/2013 (Agence Europe) - How can the new global climate change agreement, which is legally binding and should be finalised by end 2015 to take effect in 2020, be developed? The European Commission wishes to know the opinion of all parties interested. It was to that end that, on Tuesday 26 March, it launched an online public consultation in order to help it prepare the European Union's stance. The consultative communication on this invites member states and the EU institutions to submit their views by 26 June. In the meantime, a conference of stakeholders will be held in Brussels on 17 April.
Connie Hedegaard, European Commissioner for Climate Action, pointed out that the world is moving day by day away from the target of 2 degrees Celsius. She said: “More action is needed by everybody. An ambitious international agreement in which all major economies commit to take action according to their current and future capabilities is vital if we are to succeed. This paper is an invitation to help shape the EU's position and contribute to getting the strongest possible deal in 2015”.
The stake is a sizeable one as UN negotiations launched at the end of 2011 in Durban will have to be intensified this year. Although focused on the 2015 agreement, the consultative paper underlines that measures taken at global level will be crucial for forging the course of policies with a view to concluding the agreement. The task may prove a tough one as, for now, only the EU, a few other European countries and Australia have agreed to a second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol, the only binding instrument. Some 60 other countries in the world have opted for non-binding arrangements, either in order to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions or to limit the rise in emissions. Also, talks on raising targets by 2020 are at a virtual standstill as there exists a considerable gap between the current commitments of the various countries and the level of reduction required to contain the rise in temperature at the earth's surface below 2° Celsius. (AN/transl.jl)