Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-11-29-Speech-3-030"
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"en.20001129.6.3-030"2
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"Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, let us not beat about the bush, the climate conference in The Hague was a flop, which is disappointing because it is becoming increasingly apparent that climate change is happening much faster than anticipated. Therefore the world needs a powerful political signal. Kyoto must not remain an empty promise. The failure of the climate conference sends out the wrong signal to the public. Many people will start thinking that the climate problems are not all that bad if those involved in the international politics of it are content not to do anything. This would also undermine the level of support for sustainable energy and energy efficiency.
Climate change has a huge impact on the developing countries. Countries such as India, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Thailand have to contend with floods that affect millions of people. We set great store by the ‘polluter pays’ principle, but hitherto, it has been the third world countries themselves that have been saddled with the bill and adapting to climate change. This is unacceptable to my mind.
Commissioner, the statements on the failure of the climate conference were lacking in credibility. The negotiators declared afterwards that an agreement had been within reach. They said there was no shortage of political will, the parties moved closer to each other’s positions, and demonstrated increased understanding of each other’s cultures. Unfortunately though, they ran out of time. I do not find that very credible. Behind all the fine words lurks political impotence. The European Union is going to have to carefully assess its own role. It is not enough to blame the United States or to complain about the lack of flexibility shown by others. We have repeatedly said ourselves that no agreement is better than a bad agreement, but that does not mean that we should make our own political wish list the yardstick of a sound agreement. The climate conference will resume in the spring. So now we must look to the future.
Commissioner, I would like to thank you for the cooperation we have enjoyed. Finally, I would like to put three questions to you. Firstly, how would you yourself assess the European Union’s stance, and what practical lessons would you draw from the failure of the conference? Secondly, how do you intend to proceed in the coming months? Will you enter into debate with the United States over the forest problem and the scientific issues and lack of clarity that are still at large in this respect? Thirdly, which aspects do you think the EU should make more concessions on? Personally, I feel we could probably moderate our demands somewhat on the point of supplementarity. Your opinion on this would be much appreciated, and I thank you for your attention."@en1
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