“New step in the right direction”
Joke Schauvliege – the Flemish Minister for Environment, Nature and Culture, who represented the European Union and the 27 Member States as chair of the European Environment Council at the COP-16 on Climate Change – is satisfied with the agreement reached at Cancún. “The result is a new step in the right direction. The active and unanimous position taken by the European Union – the 27 Member States and the Commission – has in all respects helped to bring the standpoints closer together.”
On 14 October, Minister Schauvliege rallied her fellow environment ministers from the 27 Member States behind a unanimous position for the climate conference in Cancún. The Council went to the Climate Summit with a desire to conclude partial agreements aimed at achieving a legally binding global climate agreement in the long term. Such global agreement must build on the Copenhagen Accord (2009) and should adopt the main elements from the Kyoto Protocol (1997). The outcome should provide the EU Member States with an ambitious and effective instrument and ensure environmental integrity.
In the present circumstances, from the outset of the Climate Negotiations the 27 Member States were willing to accept a second obligation or an extension of the Kyoto period, provided that all other major economies would also commit themselves.
Flemish Minister Schauvliege: “In Cancún, the Member States and the European Commission adopted a very constructive and responsible attitude. Our role as mediators was greatly appreciated by the other participating parties. The merit of the Cancún Accord is that we have been able to anchor the commitments of the Copenhagen Accord in the UN process for the implementation of the Climate Change Convention. Specifically:
- confirmation that the warming must be restricted to an increase of no more than 2°C compared to the pre-industrial period, and
- the adoption of the proposals made by the different countries – both with respect to emission reductions and regarding financial resources (fast start financing) and the long term financing (climate fund) of 100 billion dollars per year by the year 2020.
Cancún was a new and necessary step, but the work is far from over. This COP-16 has proven one thing for sure: the readiness of the whole world to combat climate change. After the pessimism of Copenhagen, multilateral consultations got going again. After the successful biodiversity summit in Nagoya, now the results achieved in Cancún also help restore confidence. We must build on these results. On behalf of the Belgian EU Presidency I for one am proud that the 27 Member States have made a substantial contribution to the global fight against climate change in Cancún. This was made possible because for the first time in a long while Europe has succeeded in speaking with one voice again.”
