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EU Council Conclusions - Climate Change

European Union Council conclusions on climate change (2684th ENVIRONMENT Council meeting)

"The Council of the European Union,

1. DEEPLY CONCERNED by the conclusion of the February 2005 Exeter Stabilisation Conference that there is strong evidence that global climate change due to human emissions of greenhouse gases is already occurring and that it will result in changes in frequency, intensity and duration of extreme events and by the droughts and fires in southern Europe, floods in Central and Eastern Europe and other extreme weather events this summer which have shown how economically damaging those events can be; RECALLS the European Union's commitment to deal with the problem of climate change, most recently expressed by the 2005 Spring European Council and in the European Parliament's Resolution of 12 May 2005 on the Seminar of Governmental Experts, which underlines that climate change is likely to have major negative global environmental, economic and social implications, and that avoiding dangerous climate change will mean limiting global mean surface temperature increase to no more than 2°C above pre-industrial levels; and EMPHASISES the importance of fully operationalising the Kyoto Protocol and meeting its targets as an essential first step to achieving this.

2. RECALLS and EMPHASISES its commitment to the conclusions of the 2005 Spring European Council and the (Environment) Council.

3. RECALLING the European Council's commitment to delivering on the EU's Kyoto Protocol target, and aware that Article 3(2) of the Kyoto Protocol requires each Annex I party to have made demonstrable progress in achieving its commitments under the Protocol by 2005; NOTES that recent data shows that in 2003 EU emissions were below the base year level but that in 2003 emissions in many Member States rose compared to 2002; STRESSES that with the implementation of planned additional policies and measures and the use of the Kyoto Mechanisms, the European Community and the Member States listed in Annex B to the Kyoto Protocol remain on course to meet their targets by 2012; ACKNOWLEDGES, however, that more has to be done to meet the European Community and the Member States' ambitions on tackling climate change in the medium and longer term; therefore, WELCOMES the European Commission's decision to look at further common and coordinated measures to meet the Kyoto Protocol obligations, and launch the next stage of the European Climate Change Programme and INVITES the Commission to begin that process as a matter of urgency in order to publish its conclusions by early Spring 2006 with a view to reporting progress to the Council by June 2006.

4. UNDERLINES, moreover, that the European Community and also the Member States have put in place comprehensive measures to deliver on our Kyoto Protocol targets, notably through the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) with links to the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Joint Implementation (JI); STRESSES the importance of allocation plans for the period 2008-2012 that, together with other measures, ensure that the European Community and its Member States will meet their commitments; RECOGNISES that the implementation of the EU ETS has provided valuable lessons that should be analysed and incorporated in the future development of the scheme; NOTES that the EU ETS will remain an essential instrument in the EU's medium and long term strategy to tackle climate change.

5. REAFFIRMS the EU's commitment to ensure the efficient and effective functioning of the flexible mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol, in particular the CDM, inter alia by playing its part in providing appropriate and reliable financial support to the Executive Board, and to deliver adequate funding in 2006 to ensure the prompt operationalisation of the International Transaction Log; PLEDGES to continue providing adequate financial support until the end of 2008, when the CDM Executive Board becomes self-financing and URGES other Parties to do likewise.

6. RECALLS the commitment made in Bonn in July 2001 to make an annual $410m available to developing countries for the implementation of the Convention and; WELCOMES the commitment by the Member States to communicate at Montreal on the progress being made to deliver on their share of the commitment.

7. DETERMINED TO PURSUE the approach to develop a medium and long term strategy outlined by the 2005 Spring European Council, which emphasises the need for the widest possible cooperation by all countries and their participation in an effective and appropriate international response in the context of the UNFCCC process, and which calls on the EU to explore with other parties strategies for achieving necessary emissions reductions, the Council WELCOMES:

8. EMPHASISES that successful action depends on integrating climate change policy into decision-making processes in key relevant areas, and LOOKS FORWARD to reporting to the European Council in December 2005 on the progress made; UNDERLINES that a global future climate change strategy should drive technology innovation, employing an optimal mix of "push" and "pull" policies; with this in mind, RECALLS the discussion held at the July 2005 informal meeting of EU Competitiveness Ministers in Cardiff, which noted that the Seventh Framework Programme on Research inter alia has an essential role to play in tackling environmental issues such as global climate change; and NOTES the information presented at the September 2005 informal meeting of EU Environment and Agriculture Ministers in London, showing the impacts of climate change on agriculture and the opportunities for agriculture to contribute to reducing emissions. TAKES NOTE of the recent publication of the Communication from the European Commission "Reducing the climate impact of aviation"; WELCOMES the emphasis the Commission has placed on tackling this serious and growing problem, and LOOKS FORWARD to debating its contents in December 2005.

9. LOOKING FORWARD to the historic first meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol and the adoption of the Marrakech Accords, including the immediate operationalisation of the compliance mechanism; TAKING ACCOUNT of the aspirations of parties expressed at the preparatory meeting of ministers in Ottawa; WELCOMES the commitment at the June 2005 EU-Canada summit to delivering a positive outcome at Montreal. The EU therefore PLEDGES its full support to the incoming President of the COP and the COP/MOP in his endeavours to achieve agreement in particular on:

10. IS ENCOURAGED by the positive, forward-looking contributions made in discussions on future action to tackle climate change at the UNFCCC Seminar of Governmental Experts in May 2005; WELCOMES the commitment of the G8 countries to moving forward the global discussion on long-term co-operative action to address climate change at the UN Climate Change Conference in Montreal in December 2005.

11. RECOGNISES that Article 3(9) of the Kyoto Protocol provides that the first Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Protocol shall initiate the consideration of further commitments to be undertaken by developed countries at least seven years before the end of the first commitment period; and STRESSES that the COP/MOP should therefore initiate such considerations at its first meeting in December 2005 in Montreal; RECALLS also that Article 9 provides for a first review of the Kyoto Protocol at the second session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Protocol, and that this review is to be coordinated with pertinent reviews under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

12. In preparing for COP 11 - COP/MOP 1, LOOKS FORWARD to initiating a process among all Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to explore how further to implement this Convention to achieve its ultimate objective by developing a post 2012 arrangement, building on the experiences to date in tackling climate change, including inter alia market-based instruments, focusing in particular on environmental effectiveness, improving cost-efficiency, broadening participation in line with common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, advancing development goals in a sustainable manner, building a global carbon market, exploiting the full potential of existing technologies and exploring new ones as well as tackling adaptation; and STRESSES the need for a clear timetable for such a process, as well as for a mechanism for taking it forward, taking account of the urgency of the issue and the need to provide certainty for private and public investment."

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