Brussels, 02/12/2003 (Agence Europe) - The day after the opening of the ninth international conference of the parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 9, Milan, 1-12 December), the European Environment Agency (EEA) published a report stressing that, unless it changes its policy, the prospect of the European Union keeping its commitments under the Kyoto Protocol is not encouraging. It simply adds to the uncertain future of this international instrument on which the United States has turned its back and which Russia has still not ratified. Nonetheless, Margot Wallström, Environment Commissioner, refuses to let herself be beaten. In her view, the publication of the paltry achievements of most Member States to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions must serve as an incentive to adopt additional measures. It was therefore a very firm appeal along these lines that she made on Tuesday when presenting detailed data of the annual report on the monitoring of greenhouse gas emissions in the EU to the press, as well as progress made toward accomplishing the global objective for reduction (-8% by 2008-2012 compared to the 1990 level, the reference year). In order to be sure that her views were heard, she addressed an appeal in writing to each of the Member States.
"For the second year running, the downward trend of emissions has been reversed. This is a bad point. Compared to 2000, the overall level of emissions was up 1% in 2001. CO2 emissions are up when emissions of most of the other gases are down. The transport sector is the most problematical, with a 20% rise in its emissions since 1990. If nothing changes, this rise will reach 34% in 2010 compared to 1990. The only positive element is that the emissions of five other gases have stabilised at a level lower than the 1999 level", the Commissioner said.
The report reveals that, over the whole of the Member States, only the United Kingdom (with -3.3% in 2001) and Sweden (-1.4%) will be able, with unchanged policies and measures and according to their own estimates, to honour their commitment under the Kyoto Protocol. Finland, Greece, Ireland and France have identified additional measures to take their commitments into account. The Netherlands may come close to target. The others, however, have still to identify and quantify the additional measures needed. "At this rate, by the deadline set, the Union will reduce its total emissions level by 0.5% instead of 8%" predicted the Commissioner, who added: "I have personally sent a letter to each of the Member States calling on them to rapidly carry out measures adopted by the Union and to set in place all further measures required within the next two to three years, which will require amendments to the national policies on climate within the next twelve to eighteen months".
The Commission will be presenting a communication on the second commitments phase (beyond 2012). The European Climate Change Programme (ECCP) and the directive on rights for exchanging emmissions has already put down the first markers in this second stage, underlined Ms Wallström. Nevertheless, she wanted the mechanism to be flexible, market based but that it was not the best adapted for improving the sitaution in transport, the sector in which "fiscal insturments are the most sutiable".
COP 9 has to stay and EU must keep its key role
Raising the subject of COP 9, in which she will be take part for the Ministerial phase (9-12 December), Margot Wallström, underlined to what point the EU remained credible on the international plan for keeping its role of driving force in negotiations and aid that she was optimistic. According to the Commissioner, although there was, "an increase in emissions elsewhere in the world", particularly in the US, "the EU is on the right track provided that it used the instruments it had available". In Milan the Commissioner sated that the breadth of the Protocol needed to be kept. "The Protocol is not dead, it was just holding its breath as we were waiting for Russia's ratification…I think that Russia is going to ratify. We are the hostages of an internal political process. We have to show that we take our commitments seriously. If Russia continues to create this climate of uncertainty, it will have to pay the consequences as doubts will be allowed on the opportunity to invest in this country". She also pointed out that in the fight against climate change, "there is no plan B", the Kyoto Protocol is the only international instrument "with clear objectives and flexible mechanisms" to attempt to bring a global response to a global problem of which developing countries are the main victims and the USA being mainly responsible. She said that the EU's objectives were to get all industrial countries to respect their commitments in order to begin a dialogue with all parties, including developing countries - for the second commitment phase, with differentiated levels of responsibility that take into account the levels of development and capabilities of poor countries.