A delegation from the EP Climate Change Committee will be in Washington D.C. next week to discuss the best approach to tackling climate change with members of Congress, US administration officials and NGO representatives.

The delegation is made up of Guido Sacconi (PES, IT), Committee Chairman and EP rapporteur on CO2 emissions from passenger cars; Rebecca Harms (Greens/EFA, DE), Committee Vice-Chairman; Inés Ayala Sender (PES, ES); Bairbre de Brún (GUE/NGL, UK); Pilar del Castillo Vera (EPP-ED, ES); Avril Doyle (EPP-ED, IE), EP rapporteur on the EU Emission Trading Scheme; Jonathan Evans (EPP-ED, UK), Chairman of the EP-US Delegation; Karl-Heinz Florenz (EPP-ED, DE), EP rapporteur on climate change; Matthias Groote (PES, DE); Peter Liese (EPP-ED, DE), EP rapporteur on including aviation in the ETS.

Chairman Guido Sacconi said: "The negotiations on a post-2012 international framework on climate change are progressing and the positions adopted recently by some heads of government are encouraging.

In this context, our visit to the US is extremely important. The EU is discussing a review of the system for exchanging CO2 emissions rights [the Emissions Trading Scheme], which we put in place in 2003. As the US Congress has been discussing proposals on a greenhouse gas cap-and-trade system, exchanging views on these issues - as well as exploring ideas on how to best achieve our common goals - should be extremely fruitful.

During our visit, we will also meet representatives of the US administration. We sincerely hope that the constructive position taken by the US government in the last months, both regarding its commitment to tackle climate change and the international negotiation process, will not be contradicted in the near future, as one might fear from some recent statements."

Among those scheduled to meet the delegation are: Senator Jeff Bingaman, Chairman of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources; Senator Joe Lieberman, Member of the Committee on Environment and Public Works; Representative Ed Markey, Chairman of the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming; James L. Connaughton, Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality, and World Bank officials.

The European Parliament is fully involved in work on the EU's climate change strategy, based on the "20-20-20 by 2020" target (a 20% increase in energy efficiency, a 20% cut in greenhouse gases and a 20% share of renewables in the EU's total energy consumption, all by the year 2020).