Brussels, 08/03/2001 (Agence Europe) - The Environment Council, gathered this Monday in Brussels under the Presidency of the Swedish Minister Kjell Larsson, very rapidly adopted unanimous conclusions on climatic change that, in the light of the most recent alarming conclusions of the intergovernmental panel on climatic change (third evaluation report of the IPCC that revises, upwards, the foreseeable increase in global temperature: between 1.5°C and 5.8°C in 2100 instead of 1°C to 3.5°C as it has announced in 1995) underlines the urgent need to act and the importance of concluding the international negotiations next July during the Bonn conference, where the sixth conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention (COP6) will continue their work, suspended in The Hague, last November, following a resounding failure.
In its conclusions, the Council recalls that the Union position, is attached, in particular, to the integrity of the Kyoto Protocol, to a credible control system for respecting the undertakings made by the industrialised countries, to the support to be given to the developing countries and the importance of the domestic measures to effectively fight climate changes. It reiterated the Union's determination to continue the negotiations and its undertaking to proceed with the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol before the world summit on sustainable development, "Rio+10", that will take place in the summer of 2002, in Johannesburg. To this end, it undertakes to work for the success of the COP6, in order to create the right conditions for the ratification and the entry into force of the Protocol in 2002, reaffirms its readiness to continue an open dialogue with the other parties and the regional groups before the COP6, and invites the Commission to present, within this time, the document required for the ratification of the Protocol by the Community, as well as report to it on this issue next June.
To all the parties, the Council is launching a call for them to engage themselves in the negotiations over the details of the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol in a constructive spirit and formulate their negotiating position as quickly as possible.
The Council also recalls that the first period of engagement in the Kyoto Protocol only constitutes a first step that should be followed by other initiatives for the period beyond 2012, for lack of which the concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere will not be stabilised at the level required to avoid dangerous interference with the climatic system.
In the evening, the Ministers should return to the issue, by having a strategic discussion in view of preparing the continuation of COP6 (16-27 July). President Kjell Larsson told the press that the Union was not informed of the United States' position, "which is being studied". In the name of the European Commission, Margot Wallström added that the Americans had kept themselves to very general statements in Trieste during the informal meeting of the G8. We do not even have the name of the person with whom we are negotiating, she stated. (see EUROPE of 5/6 March, p.7).
However, assurances having been given that the Americans are prepared to talk in the framework of the Kyoto Protocol and will not maintain an identical position to that in the Hague, it is in view of this that the Ministers will deliberate over the negotiating strategy to adopt, added President Larsson confident that an agreement can be reached in Bonn.