Despite the failure of the international community to agree on a new global climate deal at the December 2009 conference in Copenhagen, the EU's goal for a political accord was reached. The Copenhagen Accord contains many of the elements for which the EU had fought and marks already the first step towards the final goal of a legally binding and sufficiently ambitious global climate deal. The EU will continue to offer its leadership at global level and will urge other countries to set more ambitious targets for fighting climate change.
At the approaching of the UN climate change conference in Copenhagen, which took place on 7-18 December 2009, the European Commission expressed clearly its wish to reach a new global, ambitious, comprehensive and legally binding climate agreement for the period after 2012. The conference was expected to settle the key political elements of the treaty and set up a process with mid-2010 as deadline for completing the full text. In this context, the Environment Commissioner at that time, Stavros Dimas, underlined among others that "Ensuring the environmental integrity of the future treaty is of paramount importance to the EU".
However, due to the slow progress made in the negotiations and a lack of consensus about the shape of the eventual treaty, it was already unlikely prior to the world summit that such a treaty could have been finalised in Copenhagen as originally planned. The EU's goal at the conference was therefore to make as much progress as possible towards a full treaty and to reach an ambitious and comprehensive political accord covering all the key elements necessary for the new treaty. In the view of the Commission, this accord should include the following four elements:
1. Pledges on emissions and finance;
2. Key architectural components of the future treaty;
3. A 'fast start' deal;
4. The follow-up process.
The outcome and follow-up to the Copenhagen conference was discussed at the occasion of the Environment Council meeting of 22 December 2009. The Council affirmed that the Copenhagen Accord contains many of the elements for which the EU had fought (including the provision of a mechanism to accelerate technology cooperation) and that it is a first step towards a legally binding and sufficiently ambitious global climate deal. In order to reach this deal, Ministers agreed that further work should follow a tight time schedule with clear deadlines and the EU should continue to offer leadership.
According to the United Nations, up to date, fifty-five countries, accounting for almost 80% of world greenhouse gas emissions, committed to fight climate change in the framework of the Copenhagen Accord.
Henceforth the EU follow-up to the Copenhagen Accord will be ensured by the new Commissioner-designate for climate change, Mrs Connie Hedegaard. During her hearing at the European Parliament on January this year she stressed that the EU should continue to push other countries to set more ambitious targets for the post-Kyoto climate deal.
More information at:
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/09/1867&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/09/534&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
http://www.euractiv.com/en/climate-environment/fifty-five-countries-join-climate-copenhagen-accord-cut-emissions-3
Environment Council meeting of 22 December 2009:
http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/envir/112072.pdf
Summary of the hearing of Connie Hedegaard - climate change
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/expert/infopress_page/008-67223-013-01-03-901-20100113IPR67222-13-01-2010-2010-false/default_en.htm