As per The EU DELEGATION in NEW YORK  on Climate Change Objectives for Bali, the Kyoto targets
<Delegation-New-York-EUInfo@ec.europa.eu>

November 27, 2007

At the UN Climate Change Conference in Bali, Indonesia, December 3-14, 2007, agreement must be reached to launch negotiations on a comprehensive and ambitious global climate change agreement for the period after 2012, when the Kyoto Protocol’s first commitment period ends. This is the European Union’s (EU) key objective following the alarming assessment of current and future climate change recently completed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas will participate in the High-Level segment of the Bali conference from December 12-14. This will be preceded on December 8-9 by a meeting of trade ministers on trade-related climate issues, and on December 10-11 by a meeting of finance ministers on funding for low-carbon technologies.

“The scientific evidence of climate change highlighted by the IPCC is compelling and alarming,” said Commissioner Dimas. “The only responsible reaction is to step up global efforts to limit emissions of greenhouse gases. That is why in Bali we must agree to launch negotiations on a global and comprehensive climate agreement and define a ‘roadmap’ setting out its main components.”

For more on the EU’s position going into Bali, including its eight key “building blocks” for a post-2012 climate agreement, please go to the following links:
 http://www.europa-eu-un.org/articles/en/…
 http://www.europa-eu-un.org/articles/en/…

Indicating its concrete commitments to combat climate change, the EU is moving closer to achieving its Kyoto Protocol targets for reducing emissions of green house gases. Still, additional initiatives need to be adopted and swiftly implemented in order to ensure success. This is the conclusion of the European Commission’s just released annual report on EU progress towards meeting the Kyoto objectives.

According to the report, measures already taken by EU Member States, coupled with the purchase of emission credits from third countries and forestry activities that absorb carbon from the atmosphere, will reduce EU-15 emissions in 2010 to 7.4% below (in most cases) 1990 levels – just short the 8% reduction target for 2012. Moreover, additional policies and measures under discussion at the EU and national levels will allow the target to be reached and, potentially, surpassed.

For more on the EU and its Kyoto commitments, go to: http://www.europa-eu-un.org/articles/en/….