Summary: 13 February 2008, New York - Statement by H.E. Fernando M. Valenzuela, Head of the Delegation of the European Commission to the United Nations, to the Thematic Debate on Addressing Climate Change: "The United Nations and the World at Work", 62nd General Assembly
Mr. President,
2008 is a crucial year for addressing climate change. And President Kerim, by convening this debate of the General Assembly, has offered to all of us a timely opportunity to contribute to make progress in the right direction, for which we thank him.
We know climate change is happening. The evidence is irrefutable and has been piling up for some time. We know that climate change can only be tackled on a world scale and the window of opportunity for action on climate change is closing. The longer we wait to act, the worse the climate change impacts and the greater the challenge.
It is time to move from words to action. A new framework for action must be agreed before the current international commitments under the Kyoto protocol come to an end in 2012. This requires, first and foremost, a strong political will to tackle this global challenge from the world's largest emitters of greenhouse gases.
The European Union's objective is to limit the rise in average global temperatures to two degrees above pre-industrial levels. To send a clear signal to partners around the globe, the EU took on an independent commitment to reduce its green house gas emissions relative to 1990 levels by at least 20% by the year 2020 and by as much as 30 % as part of a global agreement, where all developed countries commit to comparable efforts, and where also developing countries contribute further.
On 23 January the European Commission has presented the legislative "Climate Action and Renewable Energy package", which will be instrumental in shaping a response in line with our commitments
The climate action and renewable energy package will enable the EU to achieve sharp cuts in greenhouse gas emissions and a major increase in renewables through a combination of cost-effective action through the carbon market and a fair sharing of the effort between Member States.
These proposals could make an important contribution to strengthening climate action globally. I want to highlight three areas.
1. First, a new international agreement on climate change is essential. Only global action - under the leadership of developed countries but with a meaningful contribution by emerging economies - can deal effectively with this global challenge. The UN climate conference in Bali in December last year brought the breakthrough we needed, by deciding that a global agreement for the period after 2012 should be reached by the end of next year.
I believe the Commission's climate action and renewable energy proposals will help the forthcoming negotiations in two main ways:
First, the political importance of leading by example is considerable The EU is responsible for around 14% of worldwide emissions and this share is falling. Our package has a role to play here. It shows that making the deep emissions cuts necessary to avert dangerous climate change is fully compatible with continued economic growth and prosperity.
The second way the EC package could make a useful contribution to an international agreement is through its approach to effort-sharing between different countries. Within the EU there is now a 23-fold difference in the average wealth per person between the richest Member State and the poorest Member state. The mechanism we have devised in our package allows for poorer Member States to continue growing, while they reduce or keep their emissions below 'business-as-usual' levels. We are, in fact,
giving practical effect to the international principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities."
Mr. President,
Let me add that the stakes could not be higher. With the world temperature rise accelerating, the challenge is not just to reach a post-2012 climate change agreement. It is to ensure we are ambitious enough to prevent climate change from reaching devastating levels over the coming decades that could put the lives of millions of people in danger and impose a crippling burden on our economies.
2. This brings me to the second point I want to highlight.
The Commission's climate action and renewable energy proposals take as their starting point the cut of at least 20% of green house gas emissions relative to 1990, and this commitment is unconditional. But it has also put in place the arrangements for scaling up the emissions reduction to as much as 30% once a global agreement is reached.
We believe that a 30% cut in collective emissions from developed countries is needed by 2020, if we are to have a chance of stopping global warming before it reaches dangerous levels. It is with this responsibility in mind that the EU leaders have endorsed the 30% cut that the EU has argued for in Bali. We will continue arguing for it, as the next necessary step towards an ultimate reduction in global emissions of at least half by 2050.
The Commission's package foresees that emission reduction targets will be scaled up automatically and proportionally in line with a higher international target. This means we are fully prepared for making a cut of up to 30% by 2020. We also create a strong incentive for third countries to join the future global agreement by proposing that only emission credits from countries that ratify it should be accepted by EU governments.
3. My third and final point concerns the European Union's Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). By adopting our independent commitment, the EU is also sending a clear signal that the carbon market will continue, without interruption. In fighting climate change, we will need to make better use of markets. Emissions trading is the key tool for achieving emission reductions at least cost. For us there is no question that the global carbon market must play a central role in a post-2012 climate agreement
in order to limit the costs of the deep emission reductions that will need to be made globally In this respect, public-private partnerships have a major role to play: public authorities can facilitate the creation of a framework and long term incentives to attract private investment towards activities that contribute to a low carbon economic development. In fact, the largest share of investment and financial flows for addressing climate change comes from the private sector, 86% according to the
UNFCCC secretariat report.
Mr. President,
Climate change affects everyone on this planet. For some it is their very survival that is at stake. It is their home, their livelihood, the food that they eat and the water that they drink that is at stake and the human dimension of the impact of climate changes must be taken into account... But climate change is a worldwide phenomenon. It cannot be overcome by one country or group of countries, no matter how rich or powerful. All major emitters must take action and all nations must
participate in the effort by adopting the right policies in a timely way.
The United Nations has to lead global efforts to address global challenges. No organization is better suited to dealing with these issues. Climate change is a global problem and requires global solutions. The UN family of agencies, funds and programmes is best placed to act in an increasingly coherent manner to support Member States, during both the negotiation and implementation phases of a new climate change agreement. We welcome in this respect the work led by the Chief Executive Board. And
would like to conclude by reaffirming the European Commission active support to the multilateral negotiations under the UNFCCC and the UN role in this area.
Thank you.
| Top |
European Union Member States
Alerts by email
Email this page
Print this page