Luxembourg, 23/07/2015 (Agence Europe) - Member State Ministers for the Environment have called on international negotiators to pick up the pace in an effort to make the progress achieved at a political level in climate negotiations, official. This appeal was launched on Thursday 23 July in Luxembourg, during an informal Environment Council meeting.
Carole Dieschbourg chaired the session and stated: “We don't have much time until Paris. Points of convergence are beginning to emerge. The negotiators must follow the impetus provided by their ministers and deliver a shorter text to us, limited to the main political options, by October at the latest”. So far, the text is still 80 pages long and just ten days of formal negotiations remain.
According to the Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy, Miguel Arias Canete, “the technical work is very slow but there is an increasing political dynamic”.
In view of the intensive negotiating meetings on the 18-21 July in Mondorf-Les Bains (Major Economies Forum), followed by the informal consultations in Paris, there has been consensus, particularly on adaptation, clear objectives, the long-term 60% reduction of emissions by 2020 instead of 2050 and the revision and transparency of the future agreement, “but there are still major differences on the way these elements should be overlapped”.
The Commissioner believes that “there are grounds for understanding, but no landing strip yet on the elements for an agreement”. (Aminata Niang)