Brussels: European environment ministers
began today to plan a new strategy for tackling climate change
after "disastrous" UN climate negotiations which the US and
China did their best to undermine, the Swedish EU presidency
said.
"I call this a disaster, it doesn`t at all match the
needs of the world and that is what we have to discuss," said
Sweden`s Environment Minister Andreas Carlgren, whose country
holds the EU`s rotating presidency until the end of the year.
The outcome of the UN climate talks in Copenhagen,
which ended last Friday "was mostly for the big ones, for the
US and for China and their followers" agreeing on "the lowest
common denominator," he told reporters as he arrived for the
talks in Brussels.
The Copenhagen agreement was put together by leaders
of the United States, China, India, Brazil, South Africa and
major European nations, after it became clear the 194-nation
summit was in danger of failure.
It promised USD 100 billion for poor nations that risk
bearing the brunt of the global warming fallout and set a
commitment to limit global warming to two degrees Celsius (3.6
degrees Fahrenheit).
The summit outcome has been widely criticised,
however, with recriminations among many of the participants.
Belgian Climate Minister Paul Magnette is one of the
Europeans seeking a stronger EU line, and sees a kind of
climate tax as a possible answer.
PTI
