Brussels, 22/12/2003 (Agence Europe) - After the Environment Council on Monday evening, Council President Altero Matteoli praised the excellent co-operation between the Commission and the Italian Presidency during the time he chaired the Council. Describing the political debate surrounding climate change to reporters, he said he was dead certain that Russia would ratify the Kyoto Protocol and the international conference that has just closed in Milan (December's COP 9) would help. The engine is running and we must now meet the targets, he said, denying suggestions that the EU's policy should change and give more ground. Environment Commissioner Margot Wallstrom added that one had to be patient and respect Russia's political process. Russians hold the key to the entry into force of the Kyoto Protocol, she said, and would try to use this to their best advantage. We were very clear in Milan, she said, with all countries insisting that the Protocol was the only way to make progress, with the same rules for all. She said that preparing an alternative to the Kyoto Protocol should Russia fail to ratify it was not the right thing to do at this stage with regard to Russia and the US and all the countries that have ratified it. (See Europe of 16 December, p.11, and 17 December, p.13, on comments by Commissioner de Palacio and President Prodi.) The Commissioner said that climate change was also underway politically with competitiveness becoming a universal panacea. Which will have to be achieved through sustainable development, she stressed, pleased at the Commission and Environment Council's support.
Awaiting the opinion of the European Parliament in first reading of the EU's carbon trading system and other Kyoto Protocol flexible mechanisms, the Council held a policy debate based on a Presidency questionnaire. The delegations called for a rapid implementation of the Kyoto Protocol, in 2005, for the clean development mechanism (transferring clean technologies to developing countries) but not for joint implementation (cooperation with third countries), so as not to give Russia the impression it can take advantage of the Protocol without ratifying it. Most delegations expressed doubt about the idea of having a quantitative limit in the EU carbon trading scheme to the credits generated by projects though fear of establishing an uneven playing field with regard to non-EU countries and also because it is the responsibility of Member States to set ceilings, not of the European Community.