Brussels, 17/06/2008 (Agence Europe) - The Citizens' Agora organised by the European Parliament on combating climate change ended, on Friday 13 June, with an appeal to civil society in favour of ambitious European objectives, decisions to be taken as swiftly as possible, and for the EU to remain a leader in the fight against global warming. While some, like Jeremy Rifkin, President of the Foundation on Economic Trends, called for a “third industrial revolution”, the energy/climate package was generally welcomed and four of the five Agora workshops did not hesitate to call on the European institutions and member states to proceed with the goal of reducing CO2 emissions by 30% by 2020. “Society must be ready to accept changes, another way of life, another way of consuming and producing”, said European Commissioner Günter Verheugen, responsible for enterprise and industry. He stressed the difficulty and the stakes of such changes.
Workshops. The conclusions of the workshop on natural resources call for more sustainable solutions than the nuclear solution and for precautions to be taken regarding biofuels. Those on techniques to be perfected for combating climate change are in support of an 80g of CO2 emission per kilometre for vehicles in 2020. The workshop on solidarity between populations placed emphasis on the importance of social and environmental rights as well as on the need for better product traceability and the setting in place of an EU strategy for “climate refugees”. The workshop devoted to economic changes caused by climate change supports the CO2 reduction target of 30% and the promotion of smooth transition for the most vulnerable groups. Finally, the workshop on governance called for the environmental factor to be systematically included in all other EU policies and negotiations with third countries and organisations, as well as better knowledge of such matters in order to heighten the awareness of citizens on the stakes involved and on solidarity between the generations.
The event gathered nearly 500 representatives from civil society. Its aim was to set out the opinions and recommendations that they hoped to put to European parliamentarians and decision-makers on a subject that affects every member of the EU public. “We must make the presence of civil society at the European Parliament permanent (…) and make the Citizens' Agora a new EU institutional tool”, said Gerard Onesta (Greens/EFA, France), Vice-President of the European Parliament, closing the event. (A.D./ transl.jl)