The EU has "high expectations" from the United Nations climate conference which opened in Bali, Indonesia this week. The meeting, according to Commission President Barroso, "should mark the first steps towards a future UN framework with binding targets" to replace the Kyoto Protocol.
"Our main objective is to achieve a clear commitment to start negotiations towards an agreement on how to tackle climate change after 2012 when the Kyoto Protocol expires," Barroso told EurActiv.
"We must set 2009 as a clear deadline for this agreement in order to allow for the time for ratification."
Earlier in October, the EU's 27 environment ministers set out a number of "building blocks" for a future global climate deal, laying down eight criteria about how the agreement should look. This included a commitment to limit global average temperature rises to 2° Celsius above pre-industrial levels and "fair and effective contributions" by developing countries to achieving this goal (see EurActiv 3/12/07).
China, for instance, is the focus of increasing international attention as it is believed to already have overtaken the US as the world's largest emitter in 2006. However, it is unwilling to commit to binding cuts unless all industrialised countries, including the United States, follow suit.
"I am cautiously optimistic that we can reach a consensus" about China in Bali, said Barroso, who has just come back from an official visit there.
But he is nevertheless convinced that the Chinese should also carry their share of the burden. "My message to China was clear. While we do not expect identical commitments from developed and developing countries, the stunning economic growth of China brings new responsibilities to its leaders."
"We do not expect developing countries like China to take on absolute emission reduction commitments. We can, however, make it clear that we want to cooperate with developing countries to […] reduce the emission intensity of their economic development."
A number of EU countries, led by France, are pushing for a so-called border adjustment tax to be slapped on goods imported from countries which have not ratified the Kyoto Protocol. They argue that energy-intensive industries such as chemicals and steelmaking put them at a competitive disadvantage and threaten to delocalise their production to countries which have less stringent environmental regulations.
"The European Union will seek to protect but not enter into protectionism," Barroso warned when asked about the possibility of introducing such a tax at EU level.
However, he says the Commission is concerned about creating "a level playing field" and considers it "important" to address CO2 emissions concerns "for specific industries".
"It would be neither good environmental policy nor economically viable if energy-intensive industries were to leave Europe and emit emissions, perhaps even higher ones, outside Europe," Barroso said.
"We are currently studying different options to address these issues, such as continued free allocation of allowances [under the EU emissions trading scheme], preferably on the basis of technological energy-efficiency benchmarks; international sectoral agreements and including importers of energy-intensive products – and excluding exporters - in the EU emissions trading scheme."
To read the full version of this interview, please click here.
