Brussels, October 30 – The prospect of the world reaching a fair and just climate agreement is no closer today after European Union leaders showed total inadequacy to live up to their legal, moral and historical responsibilities for climate change.
At a summit in Brussels, Heads of State discussed the position Europe will take to United Nations climate talks in Copenhagen in December. Developing nations were desperately hoping the meeting would put forward adequate figures for the contribution the EU will make to help them mitigate their emissions and adapt to the consequences of a changing climate, and thereby give much-needed momentum to the international negotiations.
But heads of state failed to specify how much Europe is prepared to pay as its share of the finance needed. The meeting only endorsed inadequate global figures and failed to state that the finance needed should be new and additional money to existing development aid.
To help developing countries mitigate their emissions and adapt to the consequences of climate change the EU needs to contribute a minimum of 35 billion Euros per year by 2020.
Sonja Meister, climate campaign coordinator for Friends of the Earth Europe, said: “Europe has failed once again to say how much it is prepared to contribute for climate finance. Heads of state only cited global figures which are completely inadequate, as are the targets they have set for cutting emissions. In every way the EU is shirking its historical responsibilities and blocking progress towards the just and fair agreement the world needs in Copenhagen.
“Europe needs to act in line with science and the principle of climate justice. Before Copenhagen our governments have to commit to cut emissions by at least 40% domestically by 2020 and to provide the EU’s fair share of the funding for adaptation and mitigation in developing countries.”
