Brussels, 05/06/2007 (Agence Europe) - With the G8 summit (held in Heiligendamm on 6-8 June), enlarged to the five large emerging countries, nearly upon us, it seems it would be a miracle if the German EU and G8 presidency manages to rally the United States to accept ambitious and binding targets for stepping up the fight against climate change after 2012 (when the first period of Kyoto Protocol commitments has expired). Neither is it certain that the United States will manage to convince China and India to set out along the road of negotiations on the fringe of the multilateral United Nations framework, as these two countries have not for now reacted to the alternative put forward by George Bush. China, which is to reveal its climate strategy to the G8, states that “the Chinese government takes this issue very seriously”, according to the Chinese press of 5 June citing the deputy foreign minister, Cui Tiankai.
Determined to go off on its own, the United States, which is opposed to all binding objectives, does not, however, intend to isolate itself. The US initiative on climate, presented on 31 May, aims to take along fifteen countries with the largest greenhouse gas emissions - including the emerging countries that are not bound by the Kyoto Protocol - to reach, by end 2008, an “overall long term objective” for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, although no figure for reduction is given (EUROPE 9437 and 9436).
Be that as it may, Angela Merkel, who is German chancellor and president of the G8, and José Maneul Barroso, President of the European Commission, are stickling to their course. The EU will be fighting for a consensus on cutting global emissions by half by 2050 to keep the average rise in temperature at 2°C above the level reached during the pre-industrial era, on the basis of a world carbon market. Ms Merkel repeated on 3 June, after her meeting with Tony Blair, that obtaining an international agreement under the umbrella of the United Nations was not “negotiable”. As she sees it, the G8 must prepare the ground so that international talks aimed at this international agreement on a global regime for combating global warming may begin in December during the next conference of the parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to be held in Bali, Indonesia, on 3-14 December.
Convinced that the fight against climate change needs “all major global players on board”, the chancellor said that the American proposal was an “important step forward” and that all proposals were welcome, as long as they lead to a United Nations process for further reductions in greenhouse gas emissions to replace the Kyoto Protocol when it expires. Tony Blair, too, emphasised the fact that there can be no doubt “that we must achieve a worldwide agreement on climate protection within the framework of the United Nations”. Although the British prime minister welcomes the fact that the United States now agrees to the idea of aiming at substantial reductions, he added: “But we must go further. And we must say quite clearly how we aim to achieve these targets”.
Although José Manuel Barroso, who will be representing the European Commission at the G8 summit, also chooses to see a positive development in the stance taken by the USA, he is not giving anything away on the substance of the matter. “We are seeing a development in the positions adopted by the United States and China, the largest producers of emissions in the world. That is two steps forward. At global level, we have crossed the Rubicon. The question is not that of knowing whether the world should act but when and how it should act. The Community emissions trading system is by far the most significant concrete progress in the global fight against climate change. The context for this exists: - it is the United Nations Conference on Climate Change that is to begin in December 2007 for negotiating a post-Kyoto agreement for the period after 2012. The nature of this agreement must of course be negotiated but, in my view - as for all the EU member states - it is clear that we must aim at and agree on binding measures and objectives, that can be measured and carried out”, the president said before the high level group of experts on energy and climate, on 4 June in Berlin.
Stavros Dimas, Environment Commissioner, did not contradict this, saying, on 5 June on the World Environment Day that: “The battle (Ed.: against climate change) can still be won. For this, compulsory reductions of greenhouse gas emissions are needed with targets and a timetable involving the whole international community under the umbrella of the United Nations”. (an)