Climate change talks: MEPs chart the course from Lima to Paris

 Talks to be held in Lima next month should enable global partners to reach an ambitious climate agreement in Paris in 2015, so as to keep the world on track for a sub-2°C climate warming scenario, said the Environment Committee in a resolution voted on Wednesday.
 MEPs reiterated the pledge by the EU and its member states to step up contributions to the UN Green Climate Fund so as to mobilise USD 100 billion per year by 2020, and called on other donors to play their part too.

"Our ultimate goal is to put our economies on track for a sub-2°C climate warming scenario. In Lima next month, UNFCCC parties are to work constructively to develop elements of the agreement to be concluded in Paris, and we should play a key role", said Environment Committee chair Giovanni La Via, who will lead a parliamentary delegation to Lima next month.

“Of course we face a political challenge to convince all concerned that moving towards a low-carbon economy is not something punitive, but will instead allow us to create jobs and to develop the technologies and products that the global community will need”, he added.

All countries should contribute, as delaying action will increase costs and reduce options, says the resolution, which was approved by 56 votes to 2 with 9 abstentions. The Lima Conference should also agree on information requirements to ensure that national contributions are quantifiable and comparable, it adds.

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2050
MEPs see the 1-12 December Lima conference as an opportunity to set key goals ahead of the 2015 international agreement to be discussed in Paris (COP 21) on 30 November- 11 December 2015. This agreement should clearly include steps for mitigation, adaptation and an implementation strategy in to meet the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50% by 2050, they say.

EU contribution

MEPs note that by 2012, the EU had cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 19% from 1990 levels, in line with the Kyoto Protocol, while increasing its GDP by more than 45%. It thus almost halved its average emission intensity between 1990 and 2012, and reduced its per capita emissions by 25%.

They also recall the commitment made by the EU and its member states to step up funding for climate measures by capitalising the UN’s Green Climate Fund and jointly mobilise USD 100 billion per year by 2020, as part of their contribution to the December 2009 UN Copenhagen Accord aiming to keep global warming below 2°C. MEPs call on other donors to do likewise, so as to mobilise more funding for climate measures.

Developing countries

MEPs stress that agreements on funding climate measures, technology transfer and capacity building will be essential to help developing countries, which contribute the least to greenhouse gas emissions, but are most vulnerable to their effects, due to their limited capacity to react and adapt.

Air and sea

MEPs reiterate that both the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and in the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), must take steps to achieve satisfactory and timely results in line with the degree and urgency of climate change.
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/news-room/content/20141104IPR77230/
5/11/14