Brussels, 20/04/2007 (Agence Europe) - In Strasbourg on 25 April, the European Parliament will set up the temporary committee on climate change.
After the political agreement, on 15 March, to set up this new horizontal body through which Parliament will play the key role it intends to take on in promoting awareness of the urgent global problem (see EUROPE 9388), the Conference of the Presidents of the political groups approved the committee's mandate and decided it will have 60 members.
The plenary session of 25 April will approve the proposal under the terms of which the temporary committee will have the following remit: - to make proposals on the European Union's future integrated climate change policy and to coordinate the European Parliament's position in relation to the negotiations for the post-2012 international climate policy framework; - to analyse and to assess latest evidence on climate change and propose appropriate policy responses at all levels, together with an assessment of both their financial impact and the cost of inaction; - to compile as complete as possible an inventory of new and potential developments in the field of fighting against climate change, so as to provide Parliament with a detailed analysis of such developments necessary to enable it to assume its political responsibilities; - to analyse and assess the implementation of Community law in this regard to date; - to this effect, to take appropriate contacts and hold hearings with Member States and third countries' parliaments and governments, European institutions and international organisations, as well as with representatives from the scientific community and business and civil society including networks of local and regional authorities.
Without impinging on the prerogatives of existing permanent committees, which, by virtue of their specific competences, are all called on to deal with legislative matters related to climate change (environment, energy, transport, agriculture, internal market etc.), the temporary committee “may draw up recommendations for further actions or initiatives to be taken”. As with any temporary committee, the term of office of the temporary committee will be twelve months, at the end of which it will submit a report to Parliament, including, if necessary, recommendations for further actions or initiatives to be taken.
The names of the committee members will be decided by a vote in the next plenary session. Guido Sacconi (PES, Italy), the former main REACH rapporteur, is expected to become the chairman. Karl-Heinz Florenz (EPP-ED, Germany), formerly chairman of the environment committee, is the current designated rapporteur, but discussions between the political groups will continue.
During a lunch with press on 19 April, Mr Florenz said that explained, “It is important that we give lots of attention to this issue, because it is a real problem, but let's not become hysterical. A committee like this gives us the opportunity to draw up a roadmap for the European Parliament. In a year to 18 months at the most, the appropriate committees will draw the conclusions”. Mr Florenz, convinced that this problem should be borne by many, and not just industry, argued that the transport sector “from A to Z” should be involved, not just cars and aviation. But why should there be a committee rather than public hearings? To bring together in one document the many initiatives taken individually by the Parliamentary committees without ever leading to a roadmap, to carry greater weight at international conferences: “We want the EP to have this influence at the Bali conference in December,” Mr Florenz said. While he believes it useful to bring together as many countries as possible, he thinks it would be counter-productive to hound the United States to make it ratify the Kyoto Protocol. He said, “The United States has worked hard not to ratify. What's the point of annoying it even more. It would be better to find another way to help it find a way out of its isolation. It should always be possible to reach agreement on the Kyoto objectives”. (an)