Το Συμβούλιο του Ευρωπαϊκού Πράσινου Κόμματος κατά τη συνεδρίασή του στη Βαρκελώνη στις 19-21 Μαρτίου, υιοθέτησε το παρακάτω ψήφισμα:
Post Copenhagen – Climate Change
1 -The EGP regrets the outcome of the UNFCCC climate summit (COP15) in Copenhagen in December 2009, which fell far below even the modest expectations. The main outcome of the conference, the Copenhagen Accord, was merely taken note of by the conference, reflecting its lack of ambition and the exclusive process by which it was agreed.
2- Recognising the urgent need to conclude a binding and comprehensive international agreement to prevent dangerous climate change, the EGP calls for all parties to redouble their efforts in order to ensure a successful outcome to the UN climate summit in Mexico (COP16) this year. The EGP believes the EU must be to the fore in pushing for the UN talks in Mexico to be a success and that EU statements that seek to play down expectations for the outcome of COP16 are in conflict with this goal.
3- As different analyses have shown, the emissions pledges that are currently on the table clearly fall far short of what is necessary to achieve the EU goal, as reflected in the Copenhagen Accord, of limiting the increase in global temperatures to significantly less than 2°C above pre-industrial levels. All industrialized countries will need to increase their pledged emissions reductions to ensure that they achieve a collective reduction in their emissions at the high end of the scale recommended by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC): 25-40% by 2020 below 1990 levels.
4- The EU’s current pledged emissions target is clearly inconsistent with the scientific recommendations and its responsibility and capacity to deliver these emissions reductions. The EGP calls on the EU to increase its emissions pledge to an unconditional 30% reduction target by 2020 below 1990 levels immediately, with a view to increasing this to 40% in the event of a UN climate agreement. In order to ensure this pledge is credible, the EU should also strictly limit the use of offsetts agree not to bank surplus assigned amount units (AAUs), and agree to rules on
how to account for emissions from land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF) that ensure the environmental integrity of industrialized countries emissions’ reduction targets.
5- The decision by industrialized countries to commit $30 billion to ‘fast start’ climate financing for non-industrialized countries from 2010-12 was one positive outcome of the COP15. The EU has committed to contribute €2.4bn per year from 2010-12. It is vital that this is new funding and is additional to existing commitments on official development aid. As regards long-term climate financing, the figure mentioned in the Copenhagen Accord is below the amount deemed necessary to meet the climate adaptation and mitigation needs of non-industrialized countries.
This would require the provision of €120bn per year by 2020 of new and additional funding, of which the EU would be expected to contribute €30-35bn. Industrialized countries shall guarantee that the money is available in time. This should not be made dependent on the success or failure of the international carbon market. While this money has to be public with private money being additional, we support a generation of funds based on each countries responsibility and capability. More money should come from the revenues of a tax on financial transactions.
The COP16 agreement should also include that industrialized country Parties take all practicable steps to make available technical resources envisaging at the same time a mechanism to share intellectual property rights in order to enable Non Annex I countries to undertake country-level needs assessments and to develop specific capacity-building activities.
6-In the run up to the COP 16 climate negotiations in Mexico in December 2010, the European Green Party and its member parties commit to organise a series of Common Actions (to begin with the action around the negotiations in Bonn from 31st May to 11th June 2010 and one around the COP 16 negotiations in Mexico from 29th November to 10th December 2010). These Common Actions will involve as many member and observer parties of the European Green Party as possible. In our common action around the Bonn meeting, the focus will be on demanding that the EU lives up to its responsibilities and increases its emissions pledge to an unconditional 30% reduction target by 2020 below 1990 levels immediately, with a view to increasing this to 40% in the event of a UN climate agreement. It will also focus on ensuring adequate, new and additional climate financing for non-industrialized countries is put in place. In our common action around the meeting in Mexico, the focus will be on ensuring that a binding UN agreement is concluded, that will deliver the collective emissions reductions recommended by scientists to limit the increase in global temperatures to significantly less than 2°C above pre-industrial levels.
7-The EGP supports the initiative of the Greens/EFA Group in the European Parliament, in conjunction with the German Green Party, to hold a meeting in Bonn on 29/30 April which will discuss the EU’s role in the UN climate negotiations and EU climate policies, and calls on its member and observer parties to participate in this meeting. This meeting will take place just ahead of a high level ministerial meeting in Bonn (2-4 May), being organised by Germany and Mexico, that will aim to set out the political priorities for the UN climate talks this year.
8-The EGP and its member parties will continue to build alliances with NGOs and civil society to raise public awareness about climate change and the urgent need for action at political level to combat it. It also shows its solidarity with actions of peaceful civil disobedience against the so-called “false solutions”, namely new “clean” coal plants and atomic energy.
Also, the EGP will encourage and enable youth to take part in the climate debate.
9- The EGP calls on Green national and regional parliamentarians to continue to put pressure on the governments of member states towards the EU Council, to act together as a strong and united European bloc in order to increase the EU emissions pledge as stated above and have the EU Council build alliances with civil society and NGO’s in order to achieve this goal.
After the diplomatic failure of the European Union at Copenhagen, the EU must agree on a clear position in international climate diplomacy without delay. This implies the EU being able to speak with one voice in the UN negotiations, ideally through the EU climate action commissioner, and the EU should decide on this urgently. It also implies the EU building alliances with countries and regional groupings and working with these countries to achieve an ambitious international climate agreement.
10-The EGP welcomes the various studies and research projects currently being undertaken by the Climate Core Group of the Greens/EFA Group in the European Parliament (including that on the EU emissions reduction target and those planned on the issues of carbon leakage and energy savings) and encourages its parties to make use of these in their campaigns and political work.
It also welcomes the campaign and communications tools and actions that have been developed by the Climate Core Group, as well as those that are planned for the coming year, which are available on the www.stopclimatechange.net website, and encourages its parties to make use of these in their campaigns and political work.