EU breakthrough boosts UN climate talks

Simon Sturdee Yahoo News 13 Dec 08;

POZNAN, Poland (AFP) – A marathon UN climate conference entered its final stages on Friday with a spring in its step after the European Union salvaged its environmental credentials with a landmark new pact.

"The EU today said, 'yes, we can and here's how,' and that's pretty good," said US Senator John Kerry, president-elect Barack Obama's point man at the talks in Poznan, Poland.

The European pact, agreed unanimously by a 27-nation summit in Brussels, is "very exciting," Kerry told AFP during the talks, tasked with advancing towards a global treaty on climate change in Copenhagen a year from now.

"It represents an enormous act of leadership which will have an impact on Poznan, it will have an impact on Copenhagen," Kerry said.

The European Union saved the Kyoto Protocol on reducing rich countries' carbon emissions after US President George W. Bush refused to ratify it in 2001.

Its new pact, setting down a 20-percent reduction in EU greenhouse-gas emissions by 2020 over 1990 levels, was a test of whether it could still lead the way or flail in the face of the world's financial crisis.

French president and summit chairman Nicolas Sarkozy denied that the targets had been weakened in the face of fears that they would drive up the cost of energy and savage jobs amid a deep recession.

China's chief negotiator in Poznan, Su Wei, told AFP that the Brussels deal was a "positive step... though maybe some of the positions have been watered down, compared to 2007."

"It is important that the EU continue to take the lead in the international cooperation to address climate change," Su said.

Yvo de Boer, shepherding the Poznan talks as head of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), brimmed with optimism.

"This is a sign of developed countries' resolve and courage that the world has been waiting for in Poznan... This will contribute to propelling the world towards a strong, ambitious and ratifiable outcome in Copenhagen," he said.

Activists however were unimpressed, complaining that the EU package had been diluted and the UN talks appeared to be going nowhere fast.

"This was a moment in time when real leaders would have stepped up and taken the positions that would combat the economic and climate crisis at the same time," said Kim Carstensen of the nature conservancy group WWF.

"Instead, industrialised countries preached sermons about the importance of climate protection in the Poznan plenary while lacking or attacking policies to make it happen at home -- a serious sign of climate hypocrisy."

Nobel laureate Al Gore breathed fire into the UN talks, warning of imminent danger for the planet but also declaring that a political shift was in the wind, in the United States and elsewhere.

"We are moving towards several tipping points that could within less than 10 years make it impossible to avoid irretrievable damage to the planet's habitability for human civilisation -- unless we act quickly," said Gore.

The Poznan talks were tasked with clearing some of the technical undergrowth blocking the way to Copenhagen.

They went into overtime late Friday amid discord over operations of a planned fund to help poor countries to cope with the impact of climate change.

But delegates were confident this problem would be overcome and not block the main decision of launching a work programme towards Copenhagen.

Ministers were expected to decide that a mountain of proposals for the treaty's content be honed down to a negotiation blueprint by next June.

If all goes well, the treaty will take effect from the end of 2012, when the Kyoto Protocol's current roster of commitments runs out.

But a minefield lies ahead in 2009, especially the key question of who should cut their emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases, by how much and when.

Scientists are clamouring for deep cuts, both in the medium term, to 2020, and by mid-century.

With urgent action, by century's end, sea levels will rise, deserts will grow and storms, floods and droughts could become more frequent.

FACTBOX: Final EU carbon emissions deal
Reuters 12 Dec 08;

(Reuters) - European Union leaders agreed on a climate and energy package on Friday.

Some high-polluting power plants and factories will get carbon emissions permits for free under the EU's emissions trading scheme (ETS).

Regarding emissions outside that scheme, some countries will be able to offset more of their emissions by funding cuts in developing countries.

Below are details of the final compromise.

POWER PLANTS

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* Pay for all carbon permits called EU Allowances (EUAs) from 2013

Opt-out power plants

* In states where more than a third of power is produced from coal and income per capita is less than half EU average

* Get free EUAs equal to up to 70 percent of their average annual emissions from 2005-2007, and none free by 2020 * The quota of EUAs will take into account efficiency

* State aid for new super-efficient coal plants from 2013-16 that are ready for carbon capture technology

FACTORIES

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* Get 80 percent of their permits for free in 2013 and 30 percent free by 2020, with free permits phased out by 2027

Opt-out manufacturers

* Which are vulnerable to international competition

* Get 100 percent of their EUAs for free from 2013-2020 if they reach a technology benchmark

AID TO EASE COSTS OF CURBING CO2 EMISSIONS

EUA auction revenues will be allocated as follows

* 88 percent to member states as planned, according to their emissions

* 10 percent to member states according to per capita income and renewable energy production

* 2 percent to eastern European states

Extra EUAs to Lithuania to help balance increased carbon emissions following closure of Ignalina nuclear power plant

AID TO RENEWABLES AND CARBON CAPTURE

* 300 million tons of EUAs will be sold on the EU ETS carbon market to raise funds to test carbon capture and storage technology and support renewable energy 2. CARBON OFFSETTING OUTSIDE THE EU ETS

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* Member states can offset 3 percent of their emissions, which EU sources say is equivalent to about 50 percent of total emissions-cutting effort under the EU goal to cut greenhouse gases by one fifth compared with 1990 levels by 2020 Opt-out

* Twelve member states can offset 4 percent of 2005 emissions, which EU sources say is equivalent to about 90 percent of total emissions-cutting effort under the 2020 climate plan

* Defined as states producing more carbon emissions in their transport sector, or which produce a lot of renewable energy

(Compiled by Gerard Wynn, reporting by Pete Harrison and Darren Ennis; Editing by Sue Thomas)

EU leaders agree on climate change deal
Constant Brand, Associated Press Yahoo News 12 Dec 08;

BRUSSELS, Belgium – European leaders agreed Friday to stick to an ambitious plan to fight global warming through emissions cuts and renewable energy, and on ways to share the hefty costs of setting a global example.

The plan includes concessions to heavy industry and countries in Eastern Europe worried that the cost of curbing pollution would impede economic growth. The expense of the plan had caused uproar among many countries as the continent grapples with economic downturn.

The plan, agreed at an EU summit, lays out how the 27 member countries will cut carbon emissions by 20 percent by 2020.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who holds the bloc's rotating leadership, called the agreement historic and urged global partners to follow Europe's example at U.N. climate change talks in Poznan, Poland.

The French president says the 27-nation bloc has "now delivered" and it was "now the time" for others, including the United States and China, to follow suit.

"People will not follow Europe unless we set the example," he said.

EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso called the plans "the most ambitious proposals anywhere in the world."

"Europe has passed its credibility test," he said.

An EU deal could breathe new life into the U.N. climate talks, which were expected to wrap up Friday with a work plan for talks over the next year on a new global warming treaty. But that plan needs worldwide support.

The eyes of Europe's economic rivals were on the EU talks to see how the bloc manages to balance economic growth while keeping intact promises to rein in emissions.

"The overall political message that we have sent to the rest of the world is that Europe is taking the lead," Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen said at a news conference after the talks, confirming that the leaders agreed on the climate package.

European diplomats haggled through the night on complex plans to fulfill promises made last year to meet so-called 20-20-20 targets: reducing greenhouse emissions by 20 percent and ensuring that 20 percent of energy comes from wind, sun and other renewable sources by 2020.

Desperate to get a deal, France backed several opt-outs to the strict reductions it wants industries to make. The opt-outs are aimed at heavy industry that might flee abroad to regions with looser environmental rules.

France also proposed leeway for countries very dependent on coal and oil for power generation — but the EU plan that this must be temporary.

The leaders also agreed on a euro200 billion ($258 billion) Europe-wide economic stimulus package to ease the effects of a recession. The downturn overshadowed talks on the costly climate deal.

EU leaders reach new climate deal
BBC News 12 Dec 08;

European Union leaders have reached a deal on a package of measures to fight global warming.

The plan, agreed at a Brussels summit, sets out how 27 member-countries will cut carbon emissions by 20% by 2020, compared with 1990 levels.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, the summit chairman, said something "quite historic" had happened in Brussels.

But critics said concessions made to some nations and sectors would lessen the package's long-term impact.

Scientists say carbon dioxide emissions need to be cut by 25-40% by 2020 for there to be a reasonable chance of avoiding dangerous climate change.

In other developments:

• EU leaders agreed an economic recovery package worth 200bn euros (£180bn) to ease the economic downturn

• A deal was reached on concessions enabling the Irish Republic to hold a second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, which aims to streamline EU decision-making

'Credibility test'

EU leaders have been discussing the so-called "20/20/20" package to tackle climate change and concessions to limit its impact on struggling industries.

The measures, which also require approval by the European Parliament to become law, commit the EU to cutting carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 20% by 2020.

It must also raise renewable sources to 20% of total energy use and achieve a 20% cut in energy use.

EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso called the plans "the most ambitious proposals anywhere in the world".

"Europe has today passed its credibility test. We mean business when we talk about climate," he said, appealing to US President-elect Barack Obama to follow Europe's lead.

But critics said the package - which includes concessions to heavy industry and Eastern European countries worried that pollution cuts will harm their economic growth - did not go far enough.

"This is a flagship EU policy with no captain, a mutinous crew and several gaping holes in it," said Sanjeev Kumar of WWF.

'Act of leadership'

Delegates at a UN conference in the Polish city of Poznan have meanwhile been trying to find a way forward in their attempts to reach a global climate change deal by the end of next year in Copenhagen.

Al Gore won the biggest applause of the gathering with a speech predicting a far more active US climate change policy under President-elect Barack Obama.

The former US vice-president also said he was optimistic that a climate change accord could be agreed despite the financial crisis.

"To those who say it's too difficult to conclude a deal by Copenhagen, I say it can be done, it will be done, let's finish this process," he said.

One of the reasons Mr Gore gave for his optimism was that a number of developing countries have come forward with firm pledges on restraining the rise in greenhouse gas emissions, including China, Brazil and Mexico.

But he said the science mandated moving from a target of keeping atmospheric greenhouse gas levels below 450 parts per million (ppm) - a level that is regarded by many countries as a threshold above which climate impacts are likely to become severe - to 350ppm, which would be much harder to achieve.

Capacity for reducing emissions and for adapting to climate impacts needed to be improved in developing countries - but the "sclerotic" politics of today also had to change, he added.

UN officials at the conference said the EU's climate deal was a success and would contribute towards an agreement in Copenhagen, although environmental groups said they were dismayed about a number of concessions it offered to industry.