The European Parliament’s environment committee has called on the EU and its member states to ratify the Paris climate agreement before the end of the year because, they say, it would be unthinkable for the agreement to come into force without its having been ratified by the EU.
The motion for a resolution, adopted by the committee in Brussels on Thursday 8 September by the overwhelming majority of 47 votes to 1, approves the motion for ratification of the agreement on behalf of the EU presented by the European Commission on 10 June and underlines the urgent need for action (see EUROPE 11614). The committee is thus doing all it can to ensure that Parliament fulfils its part in the process as quickly as possible.
“We have adopted a resolution calling for the swift adoption of the Paris Agreement and committing the EU to act. We hope that, following ratification by China and the United States, the Council will continue to press ahead as quickly as possible”, said committee chair Giovanni La Via (EPP, Italy), addressing his comments to Laszlo Solymos, Slovak Environment Minister and President in office of the Environment Council. Solymos was attending the committee meeting to present to MEPs the Slovak Presidency’s work programme and priorities.
In theory, the European Parliament could put the matter to the vote in plenary session next week but this will depend on the decision reached by the Council. Ratification “must be quick”, said Solymos, making clear that the Slovak Presidency was working hard to achieve this.
Slovak Presidency hoping decision can be reached by consensus. “This is an extremely important process, in the international context, too. We are working hard. We are doing all we can to conclude this matter but there are 28 member states to be brought together. We cannot influence their procedures. Parliament is ready. The Presidency is taking this matter very seriously. Today and tomorrow we will be in negotiations in Coreper and I hope that we will be successful in coming to agreement.”
Replying to Bas Eickhout (Greens/EFA, Netherlands) who had asked him if he would be prepared to bring pressure to bear for the Council to come to a decision by qualified majority, the Slovak minister said that the Presidency wanted “discussion at political level within the Council in order to reach consensus”.
French Environment Minister and Chair of COP 21 Ségolène Royal has written to EU heads of state and/or government urging them to speed up their domestic procedures so that, by the informal summit in Bratislava on 16 September, “ratification dates will be known”. Hitherto, the Paris Agreement has been ratified by 26 countries which account for 39% of global emissions. Within the EU, only France, Hungary and Austria have ratified the agreement but have yet to deposit their instruments of ratification with the UN. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)