EU Environment Ministers agree on further steps towards Copenhagen agreement
The EU Environment Council finished successfully in Brussels this evening. “I am very satisfied to have finished a hard day’s work. We have reached 99% of what we wanted to,” said Environment Council President Martin Bursík.
“We have adopted very detailed conclusions on the future Copenhagen agreement on climate change. The EU is still the only community worldwide with a specified and binding emission reduction target of 20% by 2020 compared to 1990 levels. And this target is to be automatically changed to 30% when other important producers of greenhouse gasses come aboard. Therefore, we have invited our global partners such as the United States, Japan and Australia to come up with their own mid-term targets as soon as possible,” said Czech Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Environment Martin Bursík.
“It is clear that the EU as a community of relatively rich countries has the responsibility to help others. We agreed on exploring ways of ensuring financial resources to help developing as well as the poorest countries and the most threatened island states to adopt mitigating and adaptation measures. But it is also necessary to see that they take their own necessary action,” Mr Bursík noted. “Therefore we expect the developing countries to adopt their own low-carbon policies,” he added.
The Council takes into account the Commission and UNFCCC estimations that overall investments of 23 – 54 billion euro will be needed yearly until 2030 to cover the adaptation needs in developing countries. Mitigation investments worldwide should increase to 175 billion euro a year in 2020. “The distribution of the costs is still to be negotiated. It depends also on the successful implementation of cap-and-trade systems which will put the market price on carbon and influence the amount of private investments,” Bursík added.
“We have not weakened our resolve - on the contrary, we are making another step forward. And the current global economic crisis does not change anything. The Ministers agree that the crisis is an opportunity to modernise and shift our economy towards a more efficient and low-carbon one, bringing millions of new green jobs,” continued Minister Bursík, the EU Environment Council President-in-Office.
The Council also discussed the situation on the market for recycled products and invited the Commission to explore measures to encourage re-use and recycling of materials and, as a matter of urgency, to propose short- and long-term policy measures that could address the recent fall in demand for recycled materials. The Council also noted the Commission’s intention to work further on new or reinforced fiscal measures to promote energy efficient and more sustainable products and services.
The Ministers also held a political debate on the recast proposal for the Directive on Industrial Emissions (IPPC). They discussed the role of Best Available Techniques (BAT) and their reference documents (BREFs), the role of minimum emissions requirements as well as the extension of the scope of the Directive. “The vast majority of Member States expressed their willingness to strengthen the role of BAT and BREFs compared to the current situation. We have taken note of the positions and opinions of all Member States and we strongly believe that we will be able to reach a political agreement within the Council during the Czech Presidency,” Martin Bursík commented on today’s debate.
The Member States also supported Austria’s and Hungary’s plans to continue their national bans on the cultivation of genetically modified maize. “The Council confirmed that it is up to the Member States to decide whether to allow GM crops cultivation on their territory or not. I think it now for the Commission to come up with a proposal on how to change the rules to avoid a situation where a Member State which wants to be GM-free has to come to the Council again and again and defend its position,” Martin Bursík said.
The Ministers also adopted a common position of those EU Member States that are members of the International Whaling Commission, aiming to protect endangered cetaceans in the most effective manner. “The EU will not even consider undermining the moratorium on commercial whaling. But the adopted position gives a chance to effective negotiation mainly with Japan to strengthen the protection of the most endangered species of cetaceans,” Martin Bursík concluded.
Last update: 16.8.2011 15:43
