Brussels, 12/05/2014 (Agence Europe) - Marine environmental section as a vector of new growth will be the main subject EU28 environment ministers will be discussing on Wednesday 14 May in Athens, during the Informal Environment Council. This will be chaired by Yannis Maniatis, the Greek minister for the environment, energy and climate change. Climate change will also be on this session's agenda in the double perspective of pushing forward discussions on the draft integrated framework for EU climate and energy policies up to 2030 (including the implications currently being analysed by member states) and preparing the next stage of international climate negotiations (Bonn, 5-6 June). Janez Potocnik, the European Commissioner for the Environment and Connie Hedegaard, Commissioner for Climate Action, will represent the European Commission.
Achim Steiner, the executive director of the UN environment programme has also been invited to take part in the ministerial working lunch focusing on the role of the UNEP in the post-2015 development programme and global environment authority.
Blue growth. On the basis of the Presidency's reflection document “The Marine Environment under Threat? How to Create the Basis for Sustainable Growth!” ministers will hold an exchange of views on the challenges that need to be met and measures urgently adopted in this connection, as well as ways for stepping up regional cooperation, including that with third countries, in an effort to reduce increasing pressure on the marine environment (eutrophication, waste from plastics, climate change) and therefore protect ecosystems and the valuable services they produce. The aim is to ensure good marine environmental conditions by 2020, as well as the sustainable management of marine resources, in an effort to ensure their prosperity for future generations.
Climate change. At an internal level, the exchange of views will focus on aspects that need to be further developed as part of the integrated climate/energy draft framework for the present period up until 2030. The principles and criteria that are expected to help guide the impact analysis on the different member states and the development of a mechanism that fairly distributes burden sharing will also be at the heart of the discussion.
Guided by a presidency questionnaire, ministers will be asked to give their opinions on: - what essential factors in the future framework should imperatively be defined in an effort to reach an overall agreement and what elements should be left until later; - should efforts in non-ETS sectors be based on a multi-criteria approach (going beyond the single per capita GDP criteria) and if so what criteria should be retained for drawing up this future approach. These questions will be among some of the issues to be examined before a decision can be taken at the October European Council. It should be pointed out that on 21 March last, the European Council called on the European Commission to present it with an analysis of the implications of greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets for member states, this June (-40% compared to national efforts at 1990 levels), renewable energy (a European target of at least 27%) and mechanisms that could help develop more effective burden sharing between member states.
At an international level, ministers will hold an exchange of views in an effort to prepare the ministerial Roundtable on increasing the level of commitments made in the Kyoto Protocol (Bonn, 5 June) and the ministerial dialogue on the Durban Platform for enhanced action (Bonn, 6 June). (AN)