The Council conclusions read that in order to stay below 2°C, global greenhouse gas emissions need to be reduced by at least 50% by 2050 compared to 1990.
They also emphasised the need for adopting an ambitious and durable legally binding agreement in Paris, as well as a package of decisions that will enable its implementation.
Ministers also welcomed the INDC put forward by the European Union, which constitutes of a binding target of at least 40% domestic reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
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Contrary to the demands of many Member States’ delegations, the ministers refrained from signalling that the EU and its Member States retain the possibility to increase the level of mitigation ambition, including through the use of international market mechanisms.
Environmental NGOs Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth Europe criticised EU ministers for sticking to the 40% target, arguing that this level is not in line with the science for keeping global warming below 2°C and does not reflect the EU’s historical responsibility. The text states that countries should instead be required to revisit and submit “new, existing, or updated commitments” without falling behind previous levels of commitment, or resubmit the existing ones.
When it comes to emissions from maritime and aviation, the Council conclusions read that IMO, ICAO, and the Montreal Protocol should regulate emissions as soon as possible in an effective manner and in line with the below 2°C objective.
Finally, Ministers reaffirmed that the EU and its Member States remain committed to scaling up the mobilisation of climate finance, and continue to support the Green Climate Fund while looking forward to early allocation of initial funding. The actual EU negotiating mandate for Climate Finance will only be adopted by the EU finance ministers in November, however.
Discussions on the COP21 also took place earlier in the week in the European Parliament, where ENVI MEPs had the chance to hear from the Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC, Christina Figueres, on the state of play of the negotiations. Ms Figueres said that the first draft of the true Paris agreement will be released in the first week of October, together with the decision that will accompany it. She added that ambition is the most important element of the agreement, but in order to achieve this financial support to developing countries must be stepped up.
The need to improve development assistance was also debated in a plenary discussion on the relation between the Sustainable Development Goals and the COP21. MEPs supported the establishment of the emergency €1.8 billion Trust Fund for Africa announced by the Commission, along with the existing fund for Syria. They also called on the Member States to meet the target of 0.7% of GNI for Official Development Assistance (ODA) as soon as possible.
The new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will be approved at the UN summit in New York, scheduled for September 25-27. The COP21 Conference will be taking place from November 30-December 11.
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