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Sustainable Economy > Published by Casper ter Kuile, December 11th 2009 at 2:39 pm

Britain and France push through EU aid deal but anger remains at lack of urgency

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LFF-Copenhagen-logoAfter the drama surrounding the Tuvalu suspension of the Kyoto Protocol discussions, day four in Copenhagen was characterised by frantic backroom negotiations and frustration among all parties as plenary discussions continued to be on hold.

Civil society groups were increasingly angry about the slow pace of negotiations and the manner in which they are being conducted. It was the official UN Youth and Future Generations Day, with many young delegations meeting with their national negotiators.

Many of these meetings were emotional, as unprecedented numbers of youth attend the Conference of Parties.

The Indigenous Peoples Caucus also held rallies outside US Embassies, calling on President Obama to sign the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which they say are being written out of the draft treaty.

FOSSIL OF THE DAY:

After the UK’s positive announcement of supporting 30 per cent targets for the EU by 2020, Poland has actively blocked this move to help progress the negotiations, winning it the first place in the “Fossil of the Day” awards.

Poland’s strong reliance on coal has made the government obstruct strong targets repeatedly, and there are questions as to whether Gordon Brown and his allies will be able to force the 30 per cent target through today, though at today’s European Union summit in Brussels Britain and France led the EU in committing more than €2bn (£1.8bn) a year to help poorer countries cope with global warming.

This East-West split within the EU is becoming increasingly clear, with France also being lauded for proactively closing loopholes in the draft text on forestry.

Second place went to Germany, up until last year seen as a positive force within the UN climate negotiations. The right-of-centre coalition government suggested that any climate finance for the developing world should come from existing development money, taking away funds for famine relief, malaria medicine and primary school funding.

New Zealand took third place at the awards, having already received one as part of the Umbrella negotiating group (non-EU developed nations). Conservative Prime Minister John Key said recently:

“I am not focused on increasing New Zealand’s target. If New Zealand were to achieve a target of 10 per cent less,that would be a significant milestone.”

  • http://twitter.com/amtarrant/status/6568736925 Andy Tarrant

    Roundup of European action at #Copenhagen & other astounding idiocy from world leaders http://bit.ly/6CFoal via @leftfootfwd #climatechange

  • Krystian

    I’m not sure why there is a presumption that there has to be a uniform emissions reduction target across the EU member states, it doesn’t sound like a very equitable approach to take. Different EU countries are at different stages of economic development e.g Poland is less developed than France, and emissions reductions targets should reflect that. Of course overall the EU should reduce its emissions by 30% by 2030, but that should involve more developed countries shouldering more of the burden than less developed countries – or the less developed countries within the EU need to be compensated in some way. It’s the same argument that applies at a global level with regards to emissions reductions in developing countries. 2.4 Billion Euros isn’t much at all in the broad scheme of things, and it will be spread across all the world’s developing countries – McKinsey estimates the cost of Poland reducing emissions by 30% by 2030 at 90 Billion Euros or half the state budget.