EC Launches Consultation on New Climate Change Agreement
August 4, 2008 // Published as a news service by IHS
The European Commission (EC) launched a public consultation on the approach the European Union (EU) should take on a new global climate change agreement.
Stakeholders and the general public are invited to state their views on a number of critical issues, such as greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets for developed countries and emission reduction actions for developing countries, adaptation to climate change, technology cooperation and finance.
The public consultation, which began on Aug. 4, will gather data for a climate change agreement up to and beyond 2012, when the current Kyoto Protocol targets will end.
The EC welcomes comments from all interested parties, including individual citizens, industry, trade unions and consumer representatives, interest groups, the nongovernmental organization community and other organizations.
Stavros Dimas, EC environment commissioner, said, "It was agreed in Bali last year that a new global climate change agreement should be adopted by the end of 2009. The ambitious agreement that needs to be reached in Copenhagen must bring together the world's nations to tackle this global challenge effectively. It is important that our contribution to this discussion is shaped by the knowledge and expertise of the different EU stakeholders."
The consultation will run until Sep. 29, 2008. Interested stakeholders are invited to participate by filling in EC's online climate change questionnaire. A conference for stakeholders is planned for autumn this year.
Background
The Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was a vital first step in addressing the serious threat of climate change.
Under the Kyoto Protocol, the EU committed itself to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 8%, compared to 1990 levels between 2008 and 2012.
In December 2007, at the U.N. conference on climate change in Bali, Indonesia, participating countries set out an action plan for an agreement on a post-2012 framework, to be completed by 2009, when the parties of the UNFCCC meet in Copenhagen.
The new EC consultation follows its communication, "Limiting global climate change to 2° Celsius: The way ahead for 2020 and beyond."
More information is available on the EC's web site on climate change.
Source: European Commission.