Mr. President, Portugal is speaking on behalf of the European Community and its Member States. This statement is supported by Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine.
Mr. President, the EU has stated the following countless times and will do so again now: Climate Change is upon us and it is high time to act.
We have had an extraordinary year in terms of raising the political profile of climate change both in the public opinion as well as on the global political agenda.
We have had several opportunities throughout the year to exchange views, among them the meeting of Heads of State and Government convened by the UN Secretary General, and the message has been consistent all across: the science is clear, it is time to act, we know what needs to be done and we all have a role to play.
Mr. President, as we celebrate the tenth anniversary of Kyoto, less than a month before the actual start of the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol, we welcome Australia as a new member to the developed country ratifiers’ family and note with satisfaction the significant progress made in setting up the institutions and the mechanisms to make Kyoto a success.
We are gathered here under your able guidance, Mr. President, to agree on the Bali Roadmap to guide negotiations on the post-2012 framework; to agree on the process to guide our global efforts to combat climate change taking into account the different role each of us has to play, based on the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and on each Party’s responsibilities and respective capabilities.
It is not an option, Mr. President, I repeat, IT IS NOT AN OPTION, for us not to live up to the World’s expectation and to go back home without a successful agreement here.
Mr. President, the EU is gravely concerned with the findings of the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, whose important work has been recognized by the award of the Nobel Peace Prize.
According to these findings, global greenhouse gas emissions due to human activities have increased about 70% between 1970 and 2004. For the first time, it is now possible to state that discernible human influences extend beyond average temperature to other aspects of climate, for instance to sea level rise, which is perhaps the most worrying large scale singularity caused by climate change.
Further to demonstrating that climate change is unequivocal, the Fourth Assessment Report also states that there is much evidence of substantial economic potential for mitigation of global greenhouse gas emissions over the coming decades that could offset the projected growth of global emissions or reduce emissions below current levels.
But our window of opportunity to act is closing rapidly and delaying action will increase the risks of dangerous climate change.
Mr. President, with a view to achieving the ultimate objective of the Convention, the EU has proposed that global mean surface temperature increase should not exceed 2° Celsius above pre-industrial levels in order to avoid global impacts and risks.
The Fourth Assessment Report strongly confirms the scientific basis for this objective. The EU Heads of State and Government have concluded that this will require the growth in global emissions to be halted within the next 10-15 years, followed by reductions of at least 50% below 1990 levels by 2050.
If we act now, the scientific findings of the Fourth Assessment Report demonstrate that our goal to limiting global average temperature increase to less than 2ºC is still within reach.
Mr. President, the EU is fully committed to keep leading the fight against global climate change. Our experience clearly demonstrates that transitioning to a low greenhouse-gas-emitting economy results into aggregate positive economic impacts. We must make sure that this objective is shared globally.
EU leaders have agreed an objective of a 30% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 compared to 1990 levels as its contribution towards a global and comprehensive agreement for the period beyond 2012, provided that other developed countries commit themselves to comparable efforts and economically more advanced developing countries to contributing adequately according to their responsibilities and respective capabilities. Irrespective of the outcome of the negotiations on a global and comprehensive agreement, the EU will move to a 20% reduction by the same deadline.
Mr. President, in response to the very clear scientific evidence, it is now up to us all in Bali to give the signal to the world that we are taking the fight against climate change seriously by engaging in formal negotiations towards a global and comprehensive post-2012 agreement.
It should be clear from the outset that commitments by all Parties should take into account the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and their specific national and regional development priorities, objectives and circumstances, including changes in these.
All developed countries need to collectively reduce their emissions in a range of 25-40% below 1990 levels by 2020 through a combination of domestic and international efforts.
Contributions by developing countries to the global effort to stabilizing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere should be enhanced and facilitated by positive incentives, including through the participation in a strengthened and broadened global carbon market, enhanced and additional crediting mechanisms, no-lose targets and sectoral approaches, sustainable policies and measures and enhanced technological cooperation.
Indeed, Mr. President, the EU is fully convinced of the urgency of enhancing international cooperation in order to rapidly accelerate the transfer of environmentally sound technologies and know-how. This is for us a key building block of our future agreement.
Scientific evidence is clear, Mr. President, that mitigation efforts, no matter how urgent and stringent, are no longer enough. Adaptation to the adverse impacts of climate change is of high priority to the European Union and must be recognized as a global challenge. The IPCC Fourth Assessment Report clearly indicates that the need to adapt is one that concerns all countries. It is our strong belief, therefore, that adaptation should be integrated into all relevant decision-making processes, including development cooperation at the same time as we acknowledge the need and are committed to contribute to the availability of future funding for adaptation.
We welcome the adoption of rules on the governance of the Adaptation Fund. This will put in place the first financial mechanism to support adaptation, as a contribution of the flexible mechanisms to the adaptation efforts of developing countries, and will constitute a marker in the development of international mechanisms for adaptation to climate change.
Mr. President, we have a lot of work to do in the next two and half days, but much more in the next two years, in order to reach a global and comprehensive post-2012 agreement in 2009.
In this regard, the Convention track of the Bali Roadmap work programme should firmly incorporate the conversion of the Dialogue into a process that allows for the further development of, and negotiations on, the ideas brought forward during the Dialogue.
As stressed on many occasions, the EU believes that the UNFCCC is the framework for tackling global climate change and we want to build on it and strengthen it. In this context, the EU has agreed to do more to mobilize the necessary finance in the most efficient and effective way as part of a global and comprehensive post-2012 framework.
Mr. President, I am delighted to announce that the EU stands ready to pledge funding support for the intensified negotiation schedule ahead of us.
Mr. President, the Bali Roadmap will take us all to Copenhagen via Poznan, on a journey of intensive discussions among us all. The EU is eager to engage in such discussions, to share our views on each of these building blocks and in particular also to hear other Parties’ views on their proposals regarding their respective contributions to our global efforts.
Thank you.