Calls for a common EU position for UN Climate Conference

This is the first formal EU Environment Council during the Polish Presidency, led by the Minister Andrzej Kraszewski.

Recently, the Polish Presidency has been conducting intensive consultation in order to become familiar with the positions of all Member States. Even before the formal Environment Council, the minister Andrzej Kraszewski calls to his European colleagues, on behalf of the Polish Presidency, for full involvement during the negotiations in Luxembourg. In his letter sent to the Member States Minister Kraszewski emphasizes: 

– A crucial point in our Council’s programme is to define a common position for European Union Member States for the UN Climate Conference in Durban. Europe must work out a common position to maintain its leadership in the area of effective global climate protection. I would like to thank you all for your hard work in this respect, but I would still like to ask you for more. COP17 is the last chance to preserve the global mechanism of climate protection, the only effective tool in combating global warming. I am confident that we shall be able to work out a common position during the upcoming Council. 

During Monday’s Council meeting of EU environment ministers will also discuss the final assessment of the sixth Environment Action Plan (6 EAP) and preparing the recommendations for creating another document on the environment protection policy. The last important element on the Council’s agenda is the summary of the political debate concerning the preparations to the Rio+20 conference, that is the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 2012. 

Magda Sikorska, spokeswoman of the Polish Presidency for the Ministry of Environment.

Article originally published at uncsd2012.org