Written Ministerial Statement by Hilary Benn: Informal Meeting of EU Environment Ministers - 16 July 2008
The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Hilary Benn )
EU Environment Ministers and Energy Ministers, MEPs and representatives from the European Commission, attended an Informal Ministerial meeting in Paris, France, to discuss the 2020 Climate-Energy Package and the international climate negotiations. I attended on 3 July and my Hon Friend the Minister for Energy (Malcolm Wicks) attended from 4-5 July.
The first working session, in the presence of representatives from civil society and industry, examined the role that the EU should play in reaching a global agreement on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The UK emphasized the importance of reaching agreement on the energy-climate package so that the EU can be a real force in the international negotiations. Over lunch, Member States discussed what they consider is the key for the success of the 2020 package. During the debate the UK highlighted the importance of the EU delivering the 30% reduction in EU emissions as part of a global international agreement, the need to agree incentive mechanisms for encouraging the Carbon Capture and Storage demonstration projects and our concerns regarding any proposal for the EU to earmark EU ETS auction revenues.
In the second working session, Ministers met with members of the European Parliament for in-depth discussions on the issues concerning the implementation of the energy-climate package. The UK acknowledged that to progress efficiently in the negotiations and obtain a definitive agreement on the package before the Conference of the Parties in Copenhagen at the end of 2009, the framework for discussion should continue to be what was proposed by the Commission. Amendments to the Commission’s proposals were suggested offering flexibilities to encourage the reduction of emissions where they are cheapest. Many Ministers expressed concerns about the need to ensure solidarity between the Member States to meet the significant costs of a transition to a low carbon EU economy. Ministers agreed that determining which sectors were at risk of carbon leakage should be evidence based and timely.
The informal meeting also examined EU GMOs policy and established a working group to undertake further analysis of the issues. The work of this group should be concluded in time for the Council of Environment Ministers on 4-5 December and will form the basis for discussions on interim guidelines.
Finally, the informal ended with a joint lunch with the European Ministers for energy, which was also attended by Dr Rajendra Pachauri, Nobel Prize winner and chairman of the IPCC, who spoke about the urgent need to fight climate change.
Page published: 16 July 2008