On 16 November in Strasbourg, the European Parliament endorsed a resolution calling for strong EU leadership at the forthcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference, to be held in Durban, South Africa, from 28 November to 9 December 2011. MEPs also agreed that the EU´s economy would benefit from raising the greenhouse gas emissions target above 20%...
"International climate negotiations are at crossroads between stagnation and progress - the EU must help to create a new dynamic in Durban", said Environment Committee and Parliament delegation Chair Jo Leinen (S&D, Germany), after the resolution was adopted with 532 votes in favour, 76 against and 43 abstentions. "The economic crisis must not be used as an excuse not to act. The EU should back the Kyoto Protocol and work with other countries on a roadmap to ensure a comprehensive climate treaty is in place by 2015 at the latest", he added.

The adopted resolution reads the EU should give "public and unequivocal" support to the Kyoto Protocol, whose first commitment period expires at the end of 2012. New measures to reduce emissions from the aviation and shipping sectors (which are excluded from the Protocol) are also needed, MEPs say, firmly standing behind EU´s plan to include international airlines in the EU ETS from 1 January 2012. The European Parliament also supports a move beyond the current 20% greenhouse gas emissions reduction target: such a step would be in EU´s own economic interest, as it would create "green jobs, growth and security". MEPs believe this is all the more needed as current emissions level from industrialised nations put the world on track to fail limiting global warming to 2 degrees Celsius.

Furthermore, the Parliament insists on the urgent need to find agreement on the sources and management of a Green Climate Fund to support climate actions in developing countries. According to the agreement reached in Cancún one year ago, this fund should reach US$100 billion per year by 2020.

Addressing a conference organised by the Greens/EFA Group at the European Parliament in Brussels a couple of day before, Climate Action Commissioner Connie Hedegaard said the EU will do its very best to keep the UN process alive. The EU is even prepared to accept if necessary – with conditions and only temporarily – a second commitment period as part of the Kyoto Protocol on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. But, realistically speaking, nothing should be expected on this front from the US, Russia, Japan and Canada. The EU must look elsewhere for partners and, to do so, must deploy a more active “climate diplomacy”, Hedegaard said.