The EU’s environment ministers are on the same wavelength as Yvo De Boer, executive secretary of the Climate Change Convention: the global conference on climate change in Copenhagen (7-18 December) can and must lead to a “very specific” and binding political agreement, it being understood that this agreement (in the form of decisions) would then be transcribed into one treaty in due form. This is “feasible,” but implies an additional effort on the part of the United States and China because, underlined the Swedish President of the Council, Andreas Carlgren, “these two countries represent 50% of global greenhouse gas emissions”. The 27 ministers, meeting on 23 November in Brussels in a special session devoted to the preparation of the Copenhagen conference, therefore renewed their appeal to partners to raise the level of their ambitions.

With just a few days to go before the opening of the conference (see Europolitics3866), ministers, together with Yvo de Boer, provided a status report on the negotiations. While he invited the EU to clarify in particular its position on financial aid to developing countries, de Boer acknowledged that it was not the competence of environment ministers and said he knew that he will need to wait until finance ministers and above all heads of state and government, who will meet on 10 and 11 December, ie half way through the Copenhagen conference, decide on a figure. A figure which, according to the president of the Council, will depend on the proposals put on the table by the other countries, including the United States. However, he confirmed that the EU will defend the principle of immediate support for developing countries, in the framework of an “initial outlay” of €5-7 billion per year for the 2010-2012 period. Here, too, however, the Union is relying on an identical effort by its partners in order for this mechanism to be inscribed in the Copenhagen decisions.

Regarding the reduction of emissions, the Council noted with satisfaction the “ambitious” promises recently made by a series of countries (Japan, Brazil, South Korea, Indonesia, Russia). These promises “bring us close to the -30% proposed by the EU, if the partners make an identical effort,” declared Carlgren. “We have used this target as a means of pressure on our partners. It worked, since these countries are starting to move.” “This -30% is just around the corner: but in order to get there, an ambitious offer by the United States, as well as by China, is absolutely crucial,” he said. To improve their position, the Americans could finance projects to combat deforestation or clean development abroad: “We would like them to use all existing possibilities,” continued Carlgren.

‘JUSTICE-CLIMATE’ PLAN

The French Minister for Ecology, Jean-Louis Borloo, noted that Washington is calling for “flexibility in dates or figures”. “If some countries have problems, we must listen to them and discuss these issues with industrialised countries,” he declared. Moreover, Borloo presented his ‘justice-climate change’ initiative aimed at financing, with public funds, the development of renewable energies or the fight against desertification in the poorest countries. This initiative calculates needs on a country-by-country basis. “We cannot continue to talk of global figures for countries, such as South Korea on one side and Burundi or Benin on the other. It does not make sense,” considered Borloo, who believes that aid for the most vulnerable countries is “in the interests of Europe and it is our responsibility to say ‘yes’”. The requirements thus evaluated are in the region of US$30 billion to US$35 billion per year, which would represent a tax of 0.01% on financial transactions. “This public aid must be specified and guaranteed to the most vulnerable countries in order to gain their trust,” he said, adding that “if this is not done, it is hopeless”.