Brussels, 04/07/2001 (Agence Europe) - After the meeting on Monday, in London, between Tony Blair and his Japanese counterpart, Junichiro Koizumi, the news that Japan is planning to amend the Kyoto Protocol on climate change in order to rally the Americans to a more acceptable offer is growing increasingly frequent. The reticence confirmed by Japan to ratify the Protocol without the US and its hope of winning them over by negotiating, in Bonn (COP 6 bis, 16-27 July), a less binding treaty will make the task of the Union mission sent to Australia and Japan to save the Kyoto Protocol even more difficult (see EUROPE of 2 and 3 July, p.10). The spokesperson for Margot Wallström, Environment Commissioner, answered the press on Tuesday: "The Union will be in Japan to clarify Japanese concerns and see how to allay them in order to reach an agreement in Bonn. Japan must stay on board for Bonn. It is unforeseeable that this country should withdraw from the process". Repeating that "the door remains open to the Americans" (the setting in place of a high level EU/US working group on climate, whose mandate will be defined in coming days), she added: "but the United States does not want binding targets. We have doubts about a change in their position".
Olivier Deleuze, who is to chair the Union delegation in Bonn, then in Marrakesh (for the COP 7), believes it is appropriate to: a) maintain the Union's unanimity; b) support the presidency of the conference of parties to the UN Framework Convention on climate change in order to reach a comprehensive agreement at the COP 6 in Bonn that will make rapid ratification and enforcement of the Kyoto Protocol possible; c) pursue dialogue with all the parties in order to guarantee the broadest participation possible in the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol; d) examine, in a constructive light, any proposal put by the parties that could contribute to reaching these objectives and that would be conform to the agenda and the timetable of COP 6 bis and COP7; e) avoid unnecessary controversy and polarisation of points of view between the Union and the other OECD member countries, and safeguard the possibility for all these countries to continue to take part in the Kyoto process and to rejoin the Protocol at any moment.