The 27-nation European Union has come up with its proposals for how to proceed after the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012. As you know, the world is going to sit down in Copenhagen in December and finalize an agreement. (See Further Thoughts on Poznan here from December.)
EurActiv reports here that “According to the Commission, all developing countries except for the poorest ones should commit to adopting low-carbon development strategies by the end of 2011.” It further reports that “The EU executive will also urge developed countries to increase emission reduction commitments, opting for a binding agreement which would include all OECD member countries and all present and future EU member states.” The rapidly industrializing countries of Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and South Africa are very engaged with the OECD now and may well be on track to membership. Will the Copenhagen accord bind them in the end to firm numbers on GHG reductions? That’s one very big question.
The European Commission published their paper today. The EU has its offer on the table. The Europeans have been in the lead. Last month, I reported on the EU’s own package: “Europe has passed its credibility test.” For more on what the EU is doing, see this excellent summary from the BBC.
It’s up to the US now to take the ball and advance it. Given any number of indications from the new Obama administration , as discussed in a number of posts here over the last couple of months , the US is very likely to do precisely that.
You should further note that there’s a G20 summit scheduled for London for April 2 and climate change is going to be high on the agenda. Also, according to the FT, the UNSG wants “… to convene a meeting of 30 to 40 heads of state in February or March to draw up a new framework for tackling the issue.” (Got all those acronyms? You can’t do IR without the acronyms.)
