Brussels, 25/09/2009 (Agence Europe) - Time has not yet run out but after the UN's global climate summit (see EUROPE 9983) and the Pittsburgh G20 summit (currently under way as we went to press), the new global negotiating meeting opening in Bangkok, Thailand, on Monday 28 September 2009 may well prove crucial because this is the penultimate preparatory meeting ahead of the UN Copenhagen summit where a new global climate deal is to be hammered out (COP 15, 7-18 December 2009). Just 72 days ahead of the big Copenhagen summit and well aware of the urgency, the Swedish Presidency of the EU and the European Commission are urging the international negotiators to make substantial and decisive progress towards a global deal.
In a press release published on Friday 25 September, EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas commented: "The European Union has set out a comprehensive agenda for the ambitious global agreement that is needed to prevent dangerous climate change. Now, after two years of discussions, it is time for all Parties to engage fully in preparing the ground for the decisions that must be taken in Copenhagen. Decisive progress is needed in Bangkok. The European Commission recently tabled proposals on finance which is a central issue in these negotiations. I am now looking to our partners in both the developed and the developing world to bring much greater urgency and ambition to the table."
Andreas Carlgren, Sweden's environment minister, added: "The EU welcomes progress, for example the new Japanese government's substantial increase in its emission reduction target. Recent encouraging public statements from the big emerging economies about limiting their emissions growth need to be turned into concrete actions and put on the negotiating table as well. The message from the UN and G20 summits must have an impact and be reflected in Bangkok. As political leaders we want to reach an agreement and negotiators need to focus on substance as well as essential elements." (A.N./transl.fl)