Brussels, 07/05/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 6 May, the European Parliament's Environment Committee gave its support to the EU's ratification of the Doha Amendment to the second period of the Kyoto Protocol commitment period (from 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2020) and the joint implementation of the commitments resulting from it.
The decisions needed for this formality were formally adopted by the Council of the EU on 26 January (see EUROPE 11239). They now need to be put into practice.
The ratification of the Doha Amendment will help prevent any legal loopholes between the end of the Kyoto Protocol and the future global agreement, which is legally binding and due to be concluded in Paris in December this year to enter into force in 2020. Approval by the Parliamentary committee was overwhelming (60 votes in favour, with 3 against). The EP's plenary session will in turn give its verdict during its June session.
“Now that Parliament is about to complete its work, it is up to the Council and the member states to deliver” said Elizabetta Gardini MEP (EPP, Italy). She added that “it would be good that the national ratification processes take place within the first part of 2015 and that member states in the EU deposit its instrument of acceptance well before the UNFCCC Conference, in Paris”.
She also appealed to the other parties in the international negotiations to demonstrate their good faith and warned, “Today is an important step for Paris where it will be essential to reach a global agreement, signed by all major emitters. If this were not to be the case, all the efforts made by Europe would become a useless sacrifice”.
Under the terms of the Doha Amendment, the EU and its member states, as well as Iceland, are committed to jointly limiting their average annual greenhouse gas emissions to 80% of the level of their respective reference years (1990 for the majority of countries), during this second period of commitment.
The Doha Amendment includes a new gas (nitrogen trifluoride); a simplified procedure to allow a Party to adjust its commitment by increasing its ambition during a commitment period; and a provision which automatically adjust a Party's target to prevent an increase in its emissions for the period 2013 to 2020 beyond its average emissions for the years 2008 to 2010. (Aminata Niang)