ID :
109636
Wed, 03/03/2010 - 22:29
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/109636
The shortlink copeid
Accord on legal text may not be possible at Mexico: EU negotiator
TOKYO, March 3 Kyodo -
A climate negotiator from the European Union said Wednesday countries may not
be able to adopt a legally binding accord in the U.N. climate talks later this
year in Mexico, but that they should reach ''action-oriented decisions'' to
implement new measures against global warming.
Jurgen Lefevere, policy coordinator of the European Commission's newly created
Directorate-General for Climate Action, told a press briefing in Tokyo, ''I'm
not sure they'll be able to do that before Cancun, maybe after Cancun,''
referring to an agreement on a legally binding framework to combat climate
change.
The last U.N. conference in December in Copenhagen failed to adopt a major
accord that involves commitments by both developed and emerging economies to
mitigate climate change and rich nations' financial assistance for vulnerable
countries.
The meeting in the Danish capital merely ''took note of'' the nonbinding
Copenhagen Accord brokered by about 30 key players, due to opposition from some
countries that complained about the closed-door drafting process.
Lefevere said one focus of the upcoming negotiations will be ''very concrete
actions in terms of implementation of key elements of the Copenhagen Accord''
and urged countries to set the schedule of future meetings in the run-up to the
next round of U.N. talks in the Mexican resort scheduled for late November and
early December
The negotiator, who took part in a two-day informal meeting on climate change
co-chaired by Japan and Brazil in Tokyo earlier this week, said it is evident
that countries ''want to start actions'' based on the Copenhagen Accord.
''They want to start moving. They don't want to waste another year, maybe two
years,'' he said, indicating that key factors of the Copenhagen Accord should
be operational even before the adoption of a legal document at a U.N.
conference.
So far, more than 100 countries have expressed their support for the accord and
the countries endorsing the pact are responsible for more than 80 percent of
total global greenhouse gas emissions.
Global climate change talks are aimed at establishing a new framework after the
first emissions-reduction commitment period for developed countries under the
1997 Kyoto Protocol ends in 2012. The Kyoto pact does not cover mandatory
emissions cuts by China and the United States, the world's two biggest
greenhouse gas emitters.
The 27-member European Union has pledged to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions
by 20 percent below 1990 levels by 2020 and is ready to raise the goal to 30
percent if other major economies present equally ambitious targets.
Lefevere said those targets were set not only for climate reasons but also for
''combinational factors'' such as economic growth, competitiveness and energy
security.
The official also said he found it encouraging that the Japanese government is
preparing a bill stipulating Tokyo's target of a 25 percent emissions cut by
2020 compared with 1990 levels.
==Kyodo
A climate negotiator from the European Union said Wednesday countries may not
be able to adopt a legally binding accord in the U.N. climate talks later this
year in Mexico, but that they should reach ''action-oriented decisions'' to
implement new measures against global warming.
Jurgen Lefevere, policy coordinator of the European Commission's newly created
Directorate-General for Climate Action, told a press briefing in Tokyo, ''I'm
not sure they'll be able to do that before Cancun, maybe after Cancun,''
referring to an agreement on a legally binding framework to combat climate
change.
The last U.N. conference in December in Copenhagen failed to adopt a major
accord that involves commitments by both developed and emerging economies to
mitigate climate change and rich nations' financial assistance for vulnerable
countries.
The meeting in the Danish capital merely ''took note of'' the nonbinding
Copenhagen Accord brokered by about 30 key players, due to opposition from some
countries that complained about the closed-door drafting process.
Lefevere said one focus of the upcoming negotiations will be ''very concrete
actions in terms of implementation of key elements of the Copenhagen Accord''
and urged countries to set the schedule of future meetings in the run-up to the
next round of U.N. talks in the Mexican resort scheduled for late November and
early December
The negotiator, who took part in a two-day informal meeting on climate change
co-chaired by Japan and Brazil in Tokyo earlier this week, said it is evident
that countries ''want to start actions'' based on the Copenhagen Accord.
''They want to start moving. They don't want to waste another year, maybe two
years,'' he said, indicating that key factors of the Copenhagen Accord should
be operational even before the adoption of a legal document at a U.N.
conference.
So far, more than 100 countries have expressed their support for the accord and
the countries endorsing the pact are responsible for more than 80 percent of
total global greenhouse gas emissions.
Global climate change talks are aimed at establishing a new framework after the
first emissions-reduction commitment period for developed countries under the
1997 Kyoto Protocol ends in 2012. The Kyoto pact does not cover mandatory
emissions cuts by China and the United States, the world's two biggest
greenhouse gas emitters.
The 27-member European Union has pledged to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions
by 20 percent below 1990 levels by 2020 and is ready to raise the goal to 30
percent if other major economies present equally ambitious targets.
Lefevere said those targets were set not only for climate reasons but also for
''combinational factors'' such as economic growth, competitiveness and energy
security.
The official also said he found it encouraging that the Japanese government is
preparing a bill stipulating Tokyo's target of a 25 percent emissions cut by
2020 compared with 1990 levels.
==Kyodo
