Brussels, 13/06/2007 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday, at the opening of Green Week, devoted to the “lessons of the past and challenges of the future” (see EUROPE 9443), European Commission President José Manuel Barroso spoke of climate change as “without doubt the greatest challenge we face today”, since it had “the potential to redraw the face of our planet, causing crippling economic damage and untold human suffering that will threaten global security”. The integrated climate and energy package approved by European Council in March was, he said, “a clear and ambitious strategy for action”, being “nothing less than a commitment to restructure Europe's economy towards a low-carbon future”. The priority now was to implement this integrated strategy (“The Commission is now working hard to put flesh on the bones of our January package,” he said) and to convince “our international partners to follow our lead” and start negotiations on a post-Kyoto agreement. He felt that in this respect the G8 meeting had been “an important step forward, which deserves recognition” since there was: - agreement that this was a global problem which required urgent global solutions; - commitment to substantial global emissions reductions; - commitment to deliver a global agreement, with targets, under the aegis of the UN; - recognition that, in fixing those targets, account had to be taken of EU, Japanese and Canadian targets to cut greenhouse gas emission by at least 50% by 2050; - consensus that a global agreement was needed by 2009.
“G8 leaders have crossed the Rubicon. It is no longer if we should act, but when and how. And the when and how are increasingly clear: in 2009, under a UN process, and with substantial cuts,” Mr Barroso said. (an)