EU disappointed with climate change declaration
The Inter-governmental panel on climate change shall produce a report on which discussions on the stabilisation of the global climate will be based, ministers decided at the UN climate convention in New Delhi on 1 November. EU negotiators came away from the conference feeling that they had succeeded in moving the official result of the conference in the right direction, for example by seeing agreement on the scientific report included in the conclusions, but disappointed that the declaration did not go further. 'There is no reference to what must be done to further reduce climate gas emissions. The Kyoto Protocol does indeed make requirements concerning reduction of climate gases, but the requirements are not big enough to enable achievement of the climate convention's ultimate objective of stabilising the global climate,' said Director General of the Danish Environmental Protection Agency, Steen Gade, who headed the EU delegation at the meeting. 'The EU therefore wanted agreement that 'further action' was necessary, but unfortunately we did not get backing for that,' he said. The 'Delhi Declaration' calls on all countries to ratify the Kyoto Protocol in the face of growing evidence of the damage done by climate change. 'Recent flooding and extreme weather events in many parts of the world have dramatically shown how vulnerable human societies are to climate change,' said EU Environment Commissioner Margot Wallström. 'Science tells us that these events are likely to become more frequent and intense in many areas as the climate warms. We need to act together in the international community to deal with this global threat,' she added. At the meeting, the EU pledged to contribute $80 million (80.4 million euro) to a new climate fund that will support less developed countries in their establishment of national programmes addressing climate change. In total, the EU and five other countries will support developing countries with $410 million (412 million euro).
Kraje
Denmark