As experts from across the world meet again in Bonn (30 April to 10 May) to prepare the detailed rules for application of the Paris climate agreement (The Paris Rulebook), to be adopted by the COP24 (Katowice, 3-14 December), a study presented in Bonn by the Greens/EFA of the European Parliament on Wednesday 2 May has set the cat among the pigeons.
The study, entitled “Revolving doors and the fossil fuels industry”, calls for the adoption of a strong conflicts of interest policy in UN discussions that would prevent disproportionate influence of the fossil fuels sector on international climate change negotiations.
“There is a revolving door between politics and the fossil fuel lobby all across Europe. It’s not just a handful of cases – it is systematic. The fossil industry has an enormous economic interest in delaying climate action (...). If we are to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement and keep global warming down to as close to 1.5 degrees as possible, we need to clamp down on conflicts of interest to stop coal, gas and oil from leaving their dirty fingerprints over our climate policy”, said Max Andersson (Greens/EFA, Sweden).
The study highlights the existence of revolving doors between political decision-makers, regulators and advisers and the fossil fuel industry in 13 European countries (Germany, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, France, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Czech Republic, United Kingdom, Sweden, and also Norway).
The need to tackle conflicts of interest within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was expressed by governments representing over 70% of the world’s population. It has the support of international civil society and the European Parliament. Upstream of the Bonn conference, MEPs of all political groups, wrote to the commissioner for climate action, Miguel Aria Cañete, asking him to support a “clear definition of conflict of interest”, as some NGOs had done earlier.
As things stand, however, little progress has been made. The European Commission, Canada and the United States are blocking debate on this subject at the UNFCCC.
The EU trusts the Bonn conference will bring substantial and concrete progress on robust regulations for implementation of the Paris Agreement, especially with regards transparency and accountability, the European Commission “climate action” department states.
The EU also plans to take part in the Talanaoa dialogue, currently in its preparatory phase before entering its political phase at the COP24 (see EUROPE 12000). In Brussels, on 13 June, the EU will hold an event as part of this facilitating dialogue which, after the COP 24, is due to result in upward review of the ambitions held by all parties by 2020.
The Greens/EFA study is available on line at: https://bit.ly/2JLocS2 . (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)