EU REJECTS ‘WEAK’ UN PAPER ON CLIMATE CHANGE
05.16.07 - Leído 44 veces. Enviar esta notaHelena Spongenberg
The European Union has rejected a draft UN document on sustainable development voicing disappointment and frustration over its lack of content on the issue of global warming
BRUSSELS, Belgium; May 16, 2007.- “The European Union deeply regrets that the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) was unable to agree on an ambitious text on energy, climate, air pollution and industrial development,” EU environment commissioner Stavros Dimas and German environment minister Sigmar Gabriel said in a joint statement on Saturday (12 May).
The two were in New York last week for the 10-day UN discussion on climate change, energy efficiency and issues related to economic development, which turned into a confrontation between the developed and developing world, media reports indicate.
Delegates spoke of a climate of “distrust,” reports German press agency DPA.
Because of the negative votes of the EU member states the 15th parliamentary session of the CSD - the most important intergovernmental environmental organ of the UN – ended without a final conclusion.
Mr Dimas said it was “unfortunate that the CSD 15 was unable to deliver” on the challenges posed by climate change.
EU governments agreed in March to cut the bloc’s CO2 emissions by 20 percent by 2020 and to work for a deal to cut emissions by 30 percent by 2020 in developed nations across the world.
EU leaders argued that this way it would be easier to get an international deal in place, however. But the prospects of getting the US and China – some of the world’s biggest polluters – on board looks bleak.
In the meantime, the US is fighting to water down a declaration on global warming being prepared for next month’s G8 summit organised by Germany which holds both the EU and the G8 presidencies in the first half of 2007.
Washington objects to pledges to limit global temperature rises by 2 degrees Celsius this century and to reduce total world greenhouse gas emissions to 50 percent below their 1990 levels by 2050, according to Reuters.
“They have rejected any mention of targets and timetables, don’t want the UN to get more involved and refuse to endorse carbon trading because it must by definition involve targets,” Reuters quoted a “well placed” source as saying.
(EUobserver)
