UP TO 15 European states signalled their willingness to take part in a “fast-start” plan to tackle climate change from next year ahead of talks at which EU leaders sought a deal on the financing of such a scheme.
As negotiations between the leaders on the voluntary plan continued last night, EU sources briefed on the talks said the likely participants included “five or six” accession states.
Ireland ranks among those supporting the plan, in addition to Denmark, Britain, Sweden and others. The sources indicated last night that Poland had also agreed in principle to participate. Poorer EU states would not be obliged to participate in the scheme.
EU leaders were also discussing their conditional plan to upgrade their emission-cutting target to 30 per cent of 1990 levels by 2020 from 20 per cent.
However, the sources said the leaders were likely to conclude that the commitments made to date by other countries such as the US and China have not yet met the EU’s requirements for Europe to increase its own target.
Instead of increasing the EU target – a move resisted by Poland – they are likely to wait to see what new commitments emerge from other developed countries at the UN climate change conference in Copenhagen.
Swedish prime minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, chair of the EU summit in his capacity as holder of the union’s rotating presidency, went into the meeting seeking agreement on an overall contribution to the scheme from EU members.
As the Copenhagen summit continues, the objective of Mr Reinfeldt and other EU leaders in developing their “fast-start” plan is to boost the talks before leaders engage in a final round of climate negotiations late next week.
If agreed at Copenhagen, a global “fast-start” scheme would be initiated next year and run for three years as a mark of the developed world’s up-front commitment to help the developing world meet the financial burden of tackling climate change.
Draft conclusions for approval at the EU include a specific reference to the “fast-start” plan, with only the EU’s overall contribution omitted from the negotiating text.
“Fast-start international public support should imply specific and separate support for adaptation, mitigation and capacity building, with specific emphasis on least developed countries,” the draft says.
It indicates that the EU is prepared to commit a sum to be agreed at the summit.
The European Commission has suggested that between €5 billion and €7 billion would be needed from the developed world at large to set such a scheme in motion.
However, the wide range it suggests in respect of the possible gross contribution from EU states – between €500 million and €2.l billion – leaves much for resolution among EU leaders themselves.
In advance of last night’s summit, European Commission president José Manuel Barroso said it was clear that a legally-binding climate change treaty would not be agreed at Copenhagen.
“I want a simple, understandable and clear text that is politically binding on all countries while reflecting our common but differentiated responsibilities,” he said.
