EU wants legally binding deal to succeed Kyoto; presidency wants agreed stance ahead of Durban.
The EU's environment ministers are to discuss when they meet in Luxembourg next Monday (10 October) whether the EU should push to extend the Kyoto Protocol on climate change beyond 2012.
Poland, which holds the presidency of the EU's Council of Ministers, wants an agreed stance on Kyoto ahead of the next conference of parties to the UN framework convention on climate change, to be held in Durban, South Africa, from 28 November to 9 December.
Poland will ask ministers if they want to extend the existing protocol, which expires in 2012, for a so-called second commitment period. The EU's position is that there should be a single, legally binding instrument to succeed the Kyoto Protocol. Extending the agreement for a second period would be the most pragmatic option, given the limited prospects for a new global agreement in the short term.
Kyoto alternatives
EU environment ministers have indicated their willingness to consider an extension of Kyoto - provided it is part of a broader deal including the prospect of a global agreement involving all major economies. The EU insists that this extension should be the last before a new global deal is agreed. Senior officials from national environment ministries are currently discussing the various options for Kyoto at a meeting in Panama that will end tomorrow (7 October).
The Durban conference is also expected to examine the state of fast-track financing for developing countries to help them deal with the effects of climate change and mechanisms for monitoring the effective use of international climate change aid.
The EU has agreed to provide €7.2 billion in fast-track financing in 2010-12, out of a total of $30bn (€22.7bn) from developed countries. The EU and national governments provided €2.34bn in 2010. The EU has also committed itself to contributing to the $100bn (€75bn) in financing that developed countries will give to developing countries from 2020.
Environment ministers will also prepare for a United Nations conference on sustainable development that will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on 4-6 June, and the Basel convention on shipping hazardous waste.