EU Parliament on climate change ahead of key meeting

Parliament adopted a resolution on climate change which sets out the Parliament's position in view of the Seminar of Governmental Experts on Climate Change that will be held in Bonn on 16-17 May 2005.

Parliament regrets that the Tenth Conference of Parties, in spite of the efforts of the EU delegation, only agreed a very narrow mandate for this meeting. MEPs believe that the European Union should retain its leading role, the House welcomes the conclusions adopted by the Brussels European Council of 22 and 23 March 2005 and, in particular, the fact that reduction targets in the order of 15-30% by 2020 for the group of developed countries have been agreed upon. It regrets, however, that no indication was given by the European Council with regard to longer term reduction targets and suggests that reductions in the order of 60-80% by 2050 be required.

Parliament is convinced that internationally competing companies, in particular energy intensive industries, require a sector approach to future international reduction targets in order to ensure an international level-playing field.

Background

The decision-making body of the Convention is its Conference of the Parties (COP). It meets every year and reviews the implementation of the Convention, adopts decisions to further develop the Convention's rules, and negotiates substantive new commitments.

Two subsidiary bodies meet at least twice a year to carry out preparatory work for the COP: the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) and the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI). Since 1996 the government of Germany in Bonn has hosted the secretariat.

COP 10 (Buenos Aires, December 2004) marked the 10th anniversary of the entry into force of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It agreed to hold a seminar of governmental experts to assist Parties to continue to develop responses to climate change and to review the policies and measures adopted to implement the Convention and the Kyoto Protocol. That seminar will be held on the 16-17 May 2005 in Bonn, immediately prior to the 22nd session of the Convention's subsidiary bodies.

Canada will host the 11th meeting of the COP at the end of the year, in conjunction with the first meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol.

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