Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-05-10-Speech-2-177"
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".
Mr President, following the very informative intervention by Minister Schmit, I wish to add a few comments and perhaps come back to some of the points raised by the Minister.
According to the Commission's strategy, the objective of the European Union for the seminar is to create a climate of trust, to discuss and look for common ground and to send out appropriate messages, not just to the United States, but also to all the global partners. I should point out here that many countries are hiding – at least they have been hiding until now – behind the refusal of the United States, in order to avoid discussing the question of climate change.
The European Union will not do likewise. It will send out appropriate messages by presenting our opinions and endeavouring to obtain the opinions of others on the topical issues raised in the Commission communication.
I wish to agree with Mr Florenz that we also need to include other sectors, if we are to be able to combat climate change more effectively, including in the transport sector. As we said earlier, the Commission is preparing a communication for next June on the question of air transport, the contribution of which to greenhouse gas emissions is increasing constantly. We are examining three alternative solutions: tax, inclusion in the gas trading system or user charges.
Similarly, we must say that the new agricultural policy supports the production of biofuels and, of course, the housing sector and the construction sector in general are very important sectors in which we can achieve important results.
Finally, I should like to say that Parliament is being called on to play an important part in our efforts to achieve an agreement on future arrangements with regard to climate. The Commission is particularly interested in your opinions on the problems and on the recommendations for the European Union's strategy, as presented in our communication. I also anticipate that your active participation and cooperation at international conferences will continue. Moreover, I call for Parliament's support in further raising the awareness of the public in the European Union and of your parliamentary counterparts in other countries. You did a very good job in Buenos Aires and I want this work to continue with the same demands on the part of the European Parliament.
First I wish to thank the chairman, Mr Florenz, for giving us this opportunity to debate climate change and, in particular, the strategy of the European Union for the seminar of government experts on climate change due to meet in Bonn next week.
I share Parliament's opinion that the seminar is a very timely step in working out the future arrangements with regard to climate change. The European Union's contribution to this seminar therefore constitutes an important part of our strategy, the aim of which is to obtain a mandate to open official negotiations on the development of these arrangements.
On 9 February, the Commission approved its communication entitled 'Winning the battle against global climate change'. This communication, which is also addressed to the European Parliament, contains the Commission's initial recommendations on the European Union's strategy after 2012. Basic elements of the communication in question were adopted by the Environment Council on 11 March and by the European Council on 22-23 March, as Mr Schmit mentioned earlier.
Apart from defining the elements which will comprise future arrangements, the communication also lists specific steps which need to be taken in the direction of these arrangements. First in importance is the need to investigate, jointly with basic partners and during the current year, both the potential for a strategy after 2012 and the shaping of a favourable climate for opening official negotiations on future arrangements.
Three weeks ago, as Mr Schmit said, I and my colleagues from Luxembourg and the United Kingdom visited the United States and the outcome of these truly constructive talks, as you acknowledged Mr Florenz, because we had discussed all this beforehand, was the agreement to find ways of restarting, of reactivating the EU/US high-level group, with a view to examining policies to combat climate change.
We have also scheduled contacts with other countries over coming months. Climate change is also high on the agenda of the G8 Group, while I personally have already held unofficial talks with my counterparts representing our basic partners both within the framework of meetings of the G8 Group and at the United Nations during talks on sustainable development. We met, either jointly with Mr Lux and Lord Whitty or separately, with representatives, with ministers from China, Brazil, Spain, South Africa, Australia and Russia and got their initial reactions. Unfortunately, we were unable to meet the Indian minister, despite the fact that we tried both in England to achieve a meeting at the meetings held by the G8 Group and in New York.
At the same time, we are strengthening numerous informal contacts and talks at a technical level.
As far as the seminar of government experts is concerned, this is an important opportunity to broaden these contacts at the level in question through open dialogue within the framework of the United Nations convention on climate change."@en1
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