Brussels, 30/05/2007 (Agence Europe) - ASEM Foreign ministers, meeting in Hamburg on 28-29 May, confirmed the need for a global and comprehensive post-2012 action plan on climate, but there remained differences on how to achieve a reduction in greenhouse gases. These differences come, a few days before the G8 Heiligendamm summit, on top of the difficulties the German presidency had in trying to persuade Washington to agree to a strong statement on combating climate change. EU Foreign ministers and their counterparts from the ASEM's 16 Asian member states (China, India, Japan, Indonesia, Burma/Myanmar, Brunei, Cambodia, South Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam) called for the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi by the Burmese authorities and presented a united front on the Iranian nuclear issue.
Climate change. Both Europeans and Asians agreed that there was need for a post-Kyoto agreement, but without any commitment to binding targets for CO2 emissions reductions. “There were disagreements on setting binding targets,” Frank-Walter Steinmeier admitted to press after the meeting. A German presidency press release on Tuesday acknowledged the role renewable energy and sustainable energy consumption had to play in combating climate change, and said that less should be expected of developing countries than of developed ones, “in accordance with the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities”. It would, thus, be for industrialised countries to make the greater efforts. “The developed world should do more, but China will do its best,” said Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, calling, too, for better sharing of clean technologies between the rich and the developing countries.
The press release published after the meeting also said that negotiations on the future system should be completed by 2009 at the latest, but Japan tempered European enthusiasm. Tokyo said that setting such a deadline was not a priority and that, first, it would be better to get the United States, China and India to join the process. According to the spokesman for the Japanese foreign minister, “Japan cannot agree with this because we should think about how we can invite non-Kyoto members, such as the United States, China and India and others”. He added: “We should work first for the inclusion of those countries to join in. Fixing the target should come much later”.
Burma/Myanmar. The presidency statement stressed that the restrictions on political parties must be removed as quickly as possible and called for the release of those detained, particularly Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Last Friday, the military junta in power in Rangoon extended the house arrest on the former Nobel Peace Prize winner for a further year. The ASEM was also concerned by the lack of tangible progress in the transition to civil and democratic government in the country and called for greater progress in national reconciliation.
Iran. The ASEM also expressed its great concern and disappointment following the International Atomic Energy Agency's report, published on 23 May, which said that Tehran was continuing its uranium enrichment activities. According to the report, Iran will be able to produce nuclear weapons in three to eight years' time. With High Representative of the CFSP Javier Solana due to meet Ali Larijani in Madrid on Thursday of this week, the ASEM ministers once again called on the Iranian authorities to resume negotiations. (ab)