Climate | 21.10.2009

EU environment ministers set strategy ahead of Copenhagen climate talks

Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: The EU proposal is only the first step in achieving a global plan to stop climate change

Environmental ministers from the 27 European Union countries have agreed to a set of demands for the upcoming United Nations climate negotiations in Copenhagen. But the countries have yet to decide how to pay for it.

Meeting in Luxembourg, the European Union environment ministers have written a proposal setting out the demands of the EU for a global climate deal to be hammered out in Copenhagen in December. The meeting failed to smooth over a bitter dispute that developed on Wednesday over funding of the deal.

"We have from the environment council a complete negotiating mandate for Copenhagen, except for the finance," said German Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel.

Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Gabriel says the only thing that's missing is the money

The minister's proposal calls on the EU to cut its emissions by at least 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050, if other developed nations agree to do the same. The EU should also set up a carbon emission permit trading scheme, to be linked up with the trading systems of other wealthy nations by 2015.

The EU plan also calls for the first time for a global reduction in emissions from planes and ships by 10 percent and 20 percent respectively below 2005 levels by 2020.

An east-west divide

The environmental ministers' meeting comes just a day after an east-west rift developed over how to finance the EU's climate change goal. That rift deepened on Wednesday as the two sides clashed over billions of euros worth of carbon emissions permits held by Russia, Ukraine and eastern EU countries. These permits are called Assigned Amount Units (AAUs) and were created by the UN's Kyoto protocol, which the Copenhagen talks are meant to replace. According to the EU, these countries hold between 7.5 billion and 10 billion AAUs, with an estimated market value of at least 75 billion euros ($112 billion).

EU countries with a surplus of these permits are fighting to be able to sell them after a Copenhagen deal is agreed upon. Poland suggested a plan in which the eastern states would have unlimited opportunities to boost their own emissions with the AAUs, but would be restricted in selling them abroad.

But this idea was "unacceptable for other member states," said Swedish Environment Minister Andreas Carlgen. Countries like Germany and Sweden say the excess permits undermine the system.

"They could affect the integrity of the EU," said Carlgen. "We have to discuss that issue further."

hf/dpa/Reuters
Editor: Michael Lawton

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