Voorbereidingen voor klimaatconferentie in Durban (en)
The Presidency led to an arrangement concerning the position for the climate conference in Durban.
On 10 October the European Ministers for Environment and Climate met in Luxembourg at the first formal EU Environment Council Meeting during the Polish Presidency. The Council was led by Minister Andrzej Kraszewski. The Environment Council Meeting adopted the position in key issues for the environment protection - global climate protection, RIO+20, transboundary disposal of waste and the summary of the 6. EU Environment Action Programme.
The major success - taking into account the earlier discussions - was the arrangement on the common negotiation strategy for the UN climate conference in Durban at the end of the year. The Ministers agreed that the European Unions should still keep the open approach to the negotiations with the countries from outside EU concerning the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol. However, it should not be an unconditional acceptance, yet it will be necessary to maintain the full structure and to indicate the time frame for the second commitment period at the latest by 2020.
The Council also expressed the readiness to regulate the issue of the global CO2 emission rights (AAU - Assigned Amount Unit) surplus along with the negotiation progress on the international arena, and conforming with the environment protection principles so that the trade in AAU units would not cause the increase of emissions and worsening of the environment condition.
The major element of the discussion left to solve in Durban is the future of the Kyoto Protocol and connecting it with a wider arrangement, encompassing the biggest economies in the world. The common objective is to strengthen the process leading to the establishment of legally binding rules for all the countries of the world
Another issue raised during the meeting of the Environment Council Meeting was the position of the European Union with reference to the RIO+20 process - conference intended to renew the political obligations within sustainable development. In Luxembourg were adopted the conclusions concerning the assessment of 6. Environment Action Programme (6 EAP) for the years 2002-2012 and also conclusions determining the position of the European Union for the 10. Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, which shall take place in Cartagena (Columbia) on 17 - 21 October 2011.