Brussels, 09/05/2016 (Agence Europe) - The European Union and the United States have agreed to set up a transatlantic working group on climate change that will seek to increase cooperation bilaterally and within multilateral bodies. The task set this new working group, which will hold its first meeting before the end of 2016, is to catalyse and accelerate international efforts for the attainment of the goals set by the Paris Accord.
This stride forward came in the seventh meeting of the United States-European Union Energy Council last week in Washington which focused on implementing the Paris Accord (see EUROPE 11545).
It was in that context that the partners have agreed that the US-EU Energy Council would now constitute a platform for transatlantic dialogue on how to accelerate the clean energy transition in line with the ambition to hold the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 degrees Celsius and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees.
The statement adopted at the meeting hailed the adoption of the Paris Accord as “a vital breakthrough”, underlines the importance of the early entry into force and urges all parties to begin their national ratification processes. The United States has already announced that it wants to open its ratification process this year. The EU shares the same desire, though it still remains uncertain exactly when the process will begin (see EUROPE 11537).
In Washington, the two parties recorded in writing their determination to continue to cooperate in order to maintain the momentum of the High Ambition Coalition which was formed at COP 21, while also seeking closer cooperation with parties willing to raise the level of ambition of global climate action, the final statement notes.
The EU and the United States recognise the importance of the “ongoing provision and mobilization of finance and technical assistance to those countries most in need”, such as that under the Power Africa Initiative and Africa Renewable Energy Initiative. Stressing the need for close US-EU coordination to implement their respective commitments, the two partners acknowledge the essential role of clean and sustainable energy policies. They also pledge in writing to develop and deploy innovative technologies for the transformation of the energy sector by 2050, and to move toward long-term national low-emission development.
Even though the Paris Accord contains no reference to the contribution of international maritime and aviation transport to tackling climate change, the EU and the US underline their support for efforts to address greenhouse gas emissions from these two sectors which are major contributors to global warming. In particular, they urge adoption of a global market-based measure to enable carbon neutral growth in international aviation from 2020 at the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Assembly meeting in September (see EUROPE 11533).
The two parties also call for a global data collection system on CO2 emissions from ships to be adopted and for discussions to be continued on further action at the International Maritime Organisation's Marine Environmental Protection Committee meeting in October (see EUROPE 11538). (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)