Big emitters "must end defensive climate stance"
(18 Apr 08) Major greenhouse gas-emitting countries must end their "defensive positions" on the creation of a new world climate change policy, French president Nicolas Sarkozy told delegates at an informal international meeting on Friday.
The French president urged progress in ongoing global discussions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions after 2012, stressing the threat posed to world food supplies by increasing climate change.
Emerging economies such as China and India must not "shy away from their responsibilities", Mr Sarkozy told delegates. The French president also called on the US to set targets to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.
Earlier this week US president George Bush unveiled a plan to halt the growth of his country's emissions by 2025. The proposal would put an absolute cap on US emissions for the first time. But it was criticised at the Paris meeting as "too little, too late".
A spokeswoman for EU environment commissioner Stavros Dimas told ENDS: "It is a good thing that the US has acknowledged the need for a cap on emissions but it is much too late and it [the plan] will not seriously do anything to tackle climate change".
German environment minister Sigmar Gabriel was much more critical, describing the plan as "Neanderthal" and accusing Mr Bush of "losership, not leadership". Japan's environment minister also lashed out at the plan, saying it fell short of what he expected. The strong criticism is likely to create tensions when leaders of G8 countries meet in July to discuss climate.
At the Paris meeting Mr Dimas reiterated Europe's call for ambitious economy-wide commitments to cut emissions in industrialised countries, but said it was not excluding the possibility of sector-specific agreements. The US favours this option.
The third meeting of world's biggest carbon-emitting countries brought together representatives from sixteen countries including the UK, France, Germany and Italy, as well as officials from the EU and UN. Topics discussed included sectoral agreements, technological cooperation, adaptation to climate and forests.
The "major emitters" process was launched by the US last year to help speed up ongoing UN climate negotiations. The Paris meeting followed a two-day gathering in Hawaii earlier this year.
Follow-up:
French government press release
Background briefing on third major emitters' meeting (French) and additional information from the foreign affairs ministry. See also Mr Bush's speech, German environment ministry press release and individual presentations on sectoral approaches.
Published with permission of ENDS Europe Daily
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