Brussels, 14/05/2007 (Agence Europe) - The 15th ministerial session of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) of the United Nations, which is to promote new commitments to climate, energy, industrial development and the fight against air pollution (EUROPE 9421), drew a blank, in New York on 11 May. Due to a lack of ambition, the draft final declaration drew the agreement of the Europeans alone. On behalf of the EU, Sigmar Gabriel, the German federal minister who chairs the Environment Council, chose to sign nothing at all rather than to give his blessing to a status quo which, he felt, would have sent out “the wrong signal” to the world.
The EU, backed up with the commitments undertaken by the latest European Council of 8-9 March on energy and climate, fought in vain for binding objectives for renewable energies, the integration of energy policies into national planning by 2010, a re-examination of energy issues within the CSD and in favour of an international agreement on energy efficiency.
The EU's hopes that, along the lines of the most recent publications of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), the Commission on Sustainable Development of the UN would take note of the urgent need to act and be able to breathe new political impetus into the conference of UN experts on climate change (Bonn, 7-18 May) were thus thwarted. In a joint declaration published on 12 May, the EU presidency and the European Commission put it on record that they are “deeply disappointed”.
Sigmar Gabriel stated: “The world has been waiting for the UN to take concrete steps to address issues such as poverty eradication through access to affordable and sustainable energy services, energy efficiency, renewable energies, climate change, air quality. The European Union has, therefore, worked tirelessly over the last two weeks to negotiate a meaningful agreement”. European Commissioner for the Environment Stavros Dimas, added: “The challenges posed by climate change, energy security and air pollution are now seen more clearly than five years ago. They require strengthened and more ambitious, international policy commitments. It is unfortunate that the CSD 15 was unable to deliver”. This certainly does not bode well for international negotiations on the fight against climate change post-2012, which are due to be launched this December in Bali. (an)