With the EU energy and climate change package set to undergo its first reading and the possibility of an agreement being reached, as well as high-level negotiations at the UN conference in Poznan, December is certainly one of the most important months for environmental policy in recent times. With that in mind, we would like to remind you of how events are to unfold in the next few weeks.

The 1st of December sees the launch of the UN climate talks in Poznan, which are scheduled to go on until the end of the next week (12 December). This conference is the last formal meeting of lead negotiators before the COP-15 in Copenhagen next year, where a post-2012 deal is scheduled to be agreed.

Meanwhile the European Parliament will meet to discuss the energy and climate change package on 3-4 December to try and find a consensus ahead of trialogue discussions on the summit conclusions on 15 December, and to consider Council and Commission statements, which are expected to be released by the end of the week. The EU summit itself will take place on 11-12 December at the European Council meeting, and is preceded by meetings of both the Environment and Energy Councils, who will both be discussing the package. The former will meet on 4-5 December and will also be discussing the Poznan negotiations, while the latter is scheduled for 8-9 December.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy will be visiting Warsaw on 6 December in an attempt to gain support from Poland, one of the package’s major critics, ahead of the summit. Once the trialogue discussions have taken place on 15 December, Parliament will have its plenary vote on the package on 17 December, which will represent the final step in its adoption or rejection in 1st reading.