Marrakech confirms Kyoto's role as EU research delivers new environmental findings
International negotiations on climate change in Marrakech on 12 November reached an agreement which confirms the international community's commitment to ratification of the Kyoto protocol. The breakthrough coincides with the publication of European research results, which indicate the EU's biosphere can absorb almost a third of industrial carbon emissions. EU Commission President Romano Prodi welcomed the agreement, which has culminated in a legal text confirming the will of over 160 countries to implement the Kyoto protocol. 'I am delighted that the climate change conference in Marrakech has reached agreement on the implementation of the Kyoto protocol,' said Mr Prodi. 'I congratulate the Moroccan chairman of the conference on this significant achievement. The European Commission has played a crucial role in marshalling arguments and support for Kyoto and Commissioner Margot Wallström deserves our special thanks. Future generations will have cause to be grateful for the steps we are taking today to preserve our planet.' Belgian state secretary and head of the EU delegation Olivier Deleuze said: 'The Kyoto protocol is saved. We found a solution to the hesitations of some states and upheld the integrity of the Bonn agreement so as to be able now to turn back to citizens in our countries to tell them that the fight against dramatic consequences of climate change, which threaten our planet, will now start in practice.' Belgian environment Minister Magda Aelvoet congratulated the EU on having 'once more shown its leadership in international negotiations on climate change.' Coinciding with the Marrakech talks, EU-sponsored carbon research projects have published a report on the amount of greenhouse gases soaked up by 'carbon sinks' of forest and soil. The main findings of European carbon cycle research, which are expected to have a fundamental impact on the implementation of the Kyoto protocol, were presented in Marrakech on 7 November. The research has found that the European biosphere, or 'carbon sink,' can absorb between 20 and 30 per cent of annual European carbon emissions. It was also reported that this carbon-absorbing potential, which may help to fulfil the EU's Kyoto commitments, could be further boosted through reforestation projects and improved forest management. The research used a method of scientifically measuring the carbon-absorbing capacity of the terrestrial biosphere, which it is hoped will allow for the implementation of an independent verification system by 2012. European research groups also predicted, however, that the carbon sink will reach saturation level in 2050, declining thereafter. The independent method used is vital to the control of agreements on carbon sinks reached during the climate change talks held in Bonn in July this year. A cluster of eight projects, named 'CarboEurope', was launched in 2000 to continue EU-sponsored research into atmospheric carbon dioxide levels which has been underway since the early 1990s. The projects are worth a total of 30 million euro, half of which is supplied by the EU under the 'Global change, climate and biodiversity' key action of the Fifth Framework programme's 'Energy, environment and sustainable development' thematic priority. Commenting on the findings, Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin said: 'We now have scientific evidence that almost one third of the industrial carbon emissions in Europe are absorbed by the European biosphere and there is great potential of increasing this sink capacity by improved and sustainable management of European forestry and agriculture. European research activities such as the CarboEurope project have again proved to be vitally important tools for policy-making - in the field of environmental protection as much as in other areas.' The CarboEurope cluster and its partners worldwide, which involves 190 senior scientists from within and outside Europe, is a multidisciplinary framework for the coordination of European carbon research. The cluster is now regarded as a 'template' for world research on the carbon cycle, with the USA, Japan and China launching similar initiatives. Professor Riccardo Valentini from the Università degli studi della Tuscia, who helped to set up the cluster, said: 'At present, Europe is leading this area of research. It is strategically important for us to maintain that leadership, also because of the implications of the Kyoto climate convention for European society. CarboEurope results were critical in achieving agreement on sinks at COP6-bis in Bonn in July 2001.' The Kyoto protocol, signed in Japan in 1997, aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 5 per cent from 1990 levels by 2008-2012.