Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/1999-12-15-Speech-3-040"
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"en.19991215.3.3-040"2
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"Mr President, Members of the European Parliament, I have been listening to this debate with great interest, and it must be said that that I have nothing but respect for the high level of knowledge the European Parliament has regarding this subject. Many MEPs have mentioned examples of problems, such as floods, storms and various meteorological catastrophes, which show that climate change is already happening. I agree with what everyone has said here. I also agree with what many have pointed out, that Kyoto is only the first step. After the commitments of Kyoto we will have to be able to commit to greater reductions in emissions to be able to prevent global warming, which is happening dangerously fast.
There are two main aspects to this as far as the European Union is concerned. The first is the European Union’s action to reduce emissions in its own area, which is also a key issue with respect to the EU’s international credibility. The Union really still has much to do in this area, which is something many MEPs have also mentioned.
I would like to comment briefly on the question of an energy tax. It is absolutely right, as Mr Wijkman, as far as I remember, said, that there are too many fossil fuels in the world, in other words, market forces are not sufficient to limit their use. The consumer behaviour patterns we all show affect the climate, and an energy tax, a carbon dioxide tax, is one way to make the price an eco-label. We all know that it has been difficult in the European Union to take a decision on an energy tax but, for example, the conclusions of the Cologne Summit state the importance of this issue. In my opinion, this question should be high up on the agenda of the Ecofin Council. One step in the right direction is that achieved on Monday in the Environment Council, which is for a Council common position on a ‘strategic directive to assess environmental effects’, which will be a good tool to evaluate the impact on the environment, including the effect of emissions on the climate, of different programmes and action.
The other aspect of our huge and difficult task is progress in international negotiations. As I said in my opening speech, it is now essential to build bridges with the other players; many who have spoken here stressed quite rightly that we must build cooperation with players other than just the United States. This is absolutely true, but I myself would certainly not see the USA in quite such a gloomy light as might have been inferred from some speeches. I have the impression that the thinking is also changing in the USA. Public opinion in the USA reveals concern about climate change. This is also seen in the changing attitudes in business in the USA, and I myself have noticed this is also having an influence on politics.
Although we as yet have no certain proof that the rules for compliance with the Kyoto agreement and the mechanisms will turn out to be good rules, it is still completely feasible to establish sound rules in the planned timetable. To the question of why the Union should not ratify the Kyoto Protocol during the sixth conference of the parties concerned, I would say that this will not be possible as we will not have any clear picture before that meeting of what we should be ratifying. If we were to commit to ratification beforehand, it would also weaken our position in the talks and our chances of successfully addressing those issues which we aim to cover at the talks. In spite of the fact that I consider ratification to be very important in itself, I still do not think it is yet possible.
In my opinion, the European Union has constantly demonstrated leadership with regard to this issue. It is not at present as striking as it was, for example, at Kyoto, as we are now at the stage of the operation where we are plodding through the very many technical details. Outwardly, this may not seem impressive, but it is absolutely essential."@en1
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