Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-10-24-Speech-4-119"
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"en.20021024.5.4-119"2
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". – Mr President, thank you for those very valid questions on COP 8 as it is called, which I will try to answer as clearly as possible.
The European climate change programme Mrs Jackson referred to was launched on 8 March 2000 and has identified key elements for a cost-effective EU-wide strategy to combat climate change. Our communication last year outlined a first package of ten measures with a cost-effective reduction potential of between 122 and 178 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent. That is nearly halfway towards our Kyoto target of -8%.
The Commission has already presented proposals for a number of these measures, including an EU emissions trading scheme, the energy performance of buildings, co-generation and a strategy to increase the use of biofuels in road transport. Others, such as legislation on minimum energy efficiency standards for end use equipment or the promotion of energy services and on fluorinated gases, are in the pipeline. But is true that some of our Member States will have to take serious steps to deal with the current trend when it comes to greenhouse gas emissions. You cannot afford to be lax in that area.
Transport has been identified as one of the more intractable sectors, with carbon dioxide emissions from transport the fastest growing, despite the progress made through our agreement with the European Automobile Manufacturers Association. The Commission has indicated that changes in current mobility patterns need to be a high priority.
Turning to the role of MEPs, the MEPs I met yesterday, who will be in the delegation going to India, find it frustrating that often they are in the same group as the NGOs. As observers, they will not have access to the negotiations or to the round table discussions in New Delhi.
We have had Members of the European Parliament in the European Communities delegation at previous COPs in Bonn and Marakesh. On both occasions I appreciated and enjoyed the outstanding cooperation with the EP delegation. It has been very helpful to have the Members of the European Parliament present and active on those occasions and at bilateral meetings with other parliamentarians.
In a letter to President Cox, the Commission President, Mr Prodi, recently confirmed that, on the basis of the framework agreement on relations between Parliament and the Commission, the Commission could accept the inclusion of eight Members of the European Parliament as observers in our Community delegation for COP 8. The inclusion of the MEPs in the COP delegation follows the established rules on the presence of Members of Parliament in delegations to international conferences.
We decided, after our discussion yesterday, that we on the Commission side will do everything we can to see whether some parts of the round table discussions could be made public or opened up to Members of the European Parliament, but we are in the hands of a UN organisation, so we can only ask. You will then need to ask the Council and the Member States whether it would be possible to participate in coordination meetings.
This issue will have to be raised in a more general context, because it concerns not only the MEPs attending this and other climate change meetings, but also other international fora. It is important to sort out for the future the different roles and responsibilities of the Commission, the Member States and Members of the European Parliament. Now is probably not the time to change all the rules in the existing agreement, but later on it should be taken to a more general level and clear rules established for the future.
I have appreciated enormously the cooperation with Members of the European Parliament. I hope that will continue at COP 8 in India.
First of all, after Bonn and Marrakech, COP 8 is an opportunity to reinforce the commitments from developed countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and repeat calls on those countries that have not yet ratified the Kyoto Protocol to do so in the near future. The discussions at COP 8 in India will first of all deal with progress on implementation. That is to establish the state of play. The concerns of developing countries relate to adaptation to climate change and the initiation of a process for further action to be taken after 2012, for a second commitment period.
The progress of the Conference will be detailed in a daily declaration. However, if you ask how important this conference is compared with the others, I can say that no negotiations on major issues of substance are foreseen. So there is a difference between previous COP meetings and this one. This is not to say that it is not important, but it is not at the level of true negotiations as yet.
We can expect the developing countries to remind the industrialised world of our obligations under the climate convention when it comes to helping them in capacity building and adaptation to climate change. The European Union, together with other developed countries, wants to have an initial discussion on the process for deciding on further action for the second commitment period and to initiate this process in New Delhi. The Environment Council also called upon other countries to engage in a dialogue on this question last week.
I can anticipate that the role of the European Union will be to try to build bridges between Japan, the United States and other countries which would like to push the developing countries to move towards quantified commitments for the second commitment period, as of now. The developing countries are opposed to that and, of course, argue from a political standpoint that it is our role to lead the way, to show that we are serious about getting our greenhouse gas emissions down, before they will accept anything that could hamper their development. So this debate will probably start, but we in the European Union have said that we should concentrate on establishing the process, because our first objective is for the Kyoto Protocol to enter into force. We should not let anything stop us from reaching that goal.
The Commission together with Member States will use COP 8 to emphasise the importance of implementing the Kyoto Protocol and the agreements reached in Bonn and Marrakech. We welcome the various points raised in the European Parliament resolution of 2 October and we will take them on board as far as possible.
One issue that we will pursue at COP 8 is also a follow-up to the coalition of the willing on renewable energy that the European Union launched in Johannesburg. We will discuss the way forward with like-minded countries and encourage others to join in.
As you know, the Kyoto Protocol will enter into force once 55 parties representing at least 55% of the emissions of Annex 1 have ratified the Protocol. So far, 95 countries representing 37.1% of emissions have ratified the Kyoto Protocol, representing around two thirds of the world population. The speed of ratification, and this concerns your second question, Mrs Jackson, increased before and during the World Summit in Johannesburg. Such events often trigger this kind of reaction. That is fine, but the important thing is to get the countries to ratify the Protocol and to make progress in implementing it. Canada and Russia said, during the World Summit, that they intent to ratify it, while major developing countries, such as China, India and Brazil, have by now done so.
I would say that what is most important now is to continue to put pressure on Russia, because we know that the ratification by Russia, which represents 17.4% of emissions, is vital to reach the 55% threshold needed for the Kyoto Protocol to enter into force. We are, of course, in contact with the Russian authorities and we are closely following progress on ratification in Russia. My colleague and I have urged other parties, with whom we have bilateral meetings, to ratify the Kyoto Protocol and we are continuing to do so. We have done all we can, travelling around the world talking to Australia and other countries in the everyday bilateral context, drawing attention to this issue and to the importance of ratifying the Kyoto Protocol. So we are continuing to call on the US and Australia to return to the Kyoto process."@en1
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