Brussels, 30/09/2015 (Agence Europe) - European Council President Donald Tusk delivered a call for multilateralism as the only solution to global challenges when he addressed the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday 29 September.
Tackling global warming is one of those challenges and, two months before the Paris conference (COP 21, 30 November-11 December), before the international community, he pledged the EU's commitment on this front.
“ Everyone who wishes to contribute to eradicating poverty, supporting peace keeping missions, solving the migration crisis, as well as to handling the causes and effects of climate change, can still count on us”, he stated.
Collective victory, not ideological fervour. Nevertheless, while the EU is ahead of the field in terms of its intended contribution (INDC), it will not go it alone, he warned. Victory is possible, he said, if everyone works together to conclude a legally binding global agreement for after 2020.
“With a pledge to reduce CO2 by 40%, as compared to 1990, Europe remains in the lead of this process. But fighting global warming is not a sports competition. Victory is possible when everybody moves in the same direction and at a similar pace. This is why we invite all of you to take part in this common endeavour. Without a global agreement, Europe's isolated efforts will be impractical. What matters for Europe is practical effects, not ideological fervour” he stated.
The EU's INDC, as submitted to the UN, is for a reduction of at least 40% in the emissions of six greenhouse gases by 2030 compared with 1990. Brazil has announced a 37% cut in its emissions by 2025 compared with 2005 and 43% by 2030. China has pledged to reach the peak of its emissions by around 2030 and the United States to reduce its emissions by 26-28% by 2025 compared with 2005. At the end of the afternoon on 30 September, Rwanda became the 125th country to submit its INDC. India's pledge is expected on 1 October. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)