Council of environment ministers
S. Gawlowski, N. Kosciusko-Morizet
© Le Conseil de l'Union européenne
- On: 04.12.2008
- In: Bruxelles
The Council of ministers for the environment and sustainable development is meeting in Brussels on 4 December to review the energy-climate legislative package and prepare for the international negotiations at the climate change conference in Poznań.
Jean-Louis Borloo, the French Minister for Ecology, Energy, Sustainable Development and Town and Country Planning (Regional Development), and Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, the French Minister of State for Ecology, will co-chair this Council which comes at a crucial stage in climate change negotiations, ahead of the United Nations conference in Poznań on 1 to 12 December 2008.
In this context, the ministers will take stock of the progress made on the energy-climate package and the proposal for a regulation to reduce CO2 emissions from light commercial vehicles. This review is being held ahead of the European Council of 11 and 12 December during which the Heads of State and Government should decide on the appropriate ways forward enabling a global agreement to be reached before the European Parliament gives its opinion on these issues on 16 December. The ministers will also review the work underway to overhaul the IPPC Directive on industrial emissions.
More specifically on sustainable development-related issues, the ministers will debate the action plan on sustainable production and consumption and sustainable industrial policy. Also, following the debate which was held at the Environment Council in October on GMOs, conclusions will be submitted on the subject for the ministers' approval.
Lastly, at an international level, the ministers should adopt conclusions calling for the control of mercury-related risks for health and the environment. The European Union could therefore take an ambitious message on this delicate issue to the 25th Session of the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to be held in February 2009 in Nairobi. The ministers should also adopt a common position on the fight against deforestation, a core element of the international climate change negotiations.
The adoption of these texts should enable the European Union to be in a strong position at the international climate change negotiations, which will be entering their final stages in Poznań and will be concluded in December 2009 in Copenhagen.
Report : Results of the Council of environment ministers
- Updated: 30.12.2008
