Due to possible US disengagement from the climate cause, France and the Netherlands took it upon themselves on Tuesday 28 February in Brussels, to emphasise the importance of the Paris Agreement and of the work required to put it into practice.
The environment ministers from these two countries, Ségolène Royal and Sharon Dijksma, took the initiative in a joint note presented to the Environment Council under “any other business items” to propose that “EU ministers responsible for environment and climate change clearly signal the EU's determination to implement the Paris Agreement in close cooperation with global partners”
In their speech, the two ministers particularly focused on the work involving the detailed rules to implement the Paris Agreement and the 2018 facilitating dialogue.
They also highlighted the importance of a constructive dialogue with the different parties involved, including the US, as well the cooperation required with all the different parties to make progress.
The joint information note explaining the approach of the two ministers asserted that “As the new US administration is signalling a possible change of course on climate policy, the EU must be ready to respond".
The French minister again highlighted the importance of countries that have not yet done so finalising their respective national ratification procedures. As Ms Royal announced during the debate on ETS reform (see EUROPE 11735), this question involves Belgium, Croatia, the Netherlands, Czech Republic and Romania.
The German minister, Jochen Flasbarth, spoke to express his support for the appeal launched by his two colleagues. The Polish minister, Jan Szyszko, again emphasised the fact that the Paris Agreement aims to achieve “carbon neutrality (a balance between emissions and the absorption of emissions), an objective that Poland was pursuing.
Jose A. Herrera, the Maltese Minister for Sustainable Development, Environment and Climate Change, as well as Acting President of the Environment Council, took note of the Franco-Dutch request. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)