European Environment Ministers Made Important Decisions Related to the Rio Conventions
 

 

On 15 March the Council of Environment Ministers took place in Brussels. In the light of the International Year of Biodiversity 2010 and the Climate Summit in Copenhagen 2009, the Council made important decisions regarding the new EU target for biodiversity conservation after 2010 and the next steps in the European climate change policy including the application of the Copenhagen Accord. Furthermore, the progress made on adopting the soil framework directive, along with other topics, was discussed.
Biological Diversity

The Council set a new EU headline target for the protection of biodiversity in 2020, namely the EU intends to halt the loss of biodiversity and the degradation of ecosystem services in the EU by 2020, restore them in so far as feasible, while stepping up the EU contribution to averting global biodiversity loss. The Conclusions which the Council adopted also outline  the EU long-term vision for protecting species in the EU by 2050, which is tightly related and dependent on the 2010 headline target. The EU long-term vision states: the European Union biodiversity and the ecosystem services it provides – its natural capital – are protected, valued and appropriately restored for biodiversity's intrinsic value and for their essential contribution to human wellbeing and economic prosperity, and so that catastrophic changes caused by the loss of biodiversity are avoided.

In addition, the Council calls upon the European Commission, in cooperation with Member States, to submit this year, as soon as possible after the 10th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in November, in Nagoya, taking account of its results, an EU post-2010 Biodiversity Strategy, including an impact assessment, which should establish the baseline for measuring the halt of biodiversity loss and its restoration, propose sub-targets and also identify the necessary, feasible and cost-effective measures and actions for reaching them. The Council conclusions stress on the importance of the participatory approach in development of policies and “bottom-up” initiatives from those who directly participate in land and sea use management, and in particular local communities.

Furthermore, the Council conclusions call for reinforced mainstreaming of biodiversity objectives in cross-cutting EU policies and strategies, such as the Sustainable Development Strategy and the Strategy for Growth and Jobs (the future EU 2020 strategy) and into the development and implementation of other national and EU policies, in particular those related to natural resources management, such as agriculture, food security, forestry, fisheries, and energy, as well as spatial planning, transport, tourism, trade, and development.

The EU position on the negotiations of the future international regime on access to genetic resources and benefit sharing was developed further.

More detailed information is available in the Council Conclusions on Biodiversity (PDF)

Climate Change

The Council evaluated the outcomes of the Copenhagen climate conference and stressed the opportunities for immediate implementation offered by the Copenhagen Accord. In its conclusions on climate change, the Council requested the Commission to present a study of the comparability of greenhouse gas emission reductions offered by third countries as well as an impact assessment of the EU's conditional move to a 30% emissions cut.

In addition, the EU and its Member States' commitment to develop their own low-emission development strategies, building on the climate and energy package was mentioned. In the Conclusions on climate change was stressed also the crucial importance of carbon markets, including cap-and-trade systems, for achieving global mitigation objectives in a cost-efficient manner and for driving low-carbon investments while contributing to sustainable development.

The Council conclusions confirmed the financial commitments of the European Union to developing countries for the period 2010-2012 and the concrete steps in 2010 towards implementing these commitments. The readiness of the EU to assist in development of guidelines which will facilitate the adoption of various provisions and mechanisms as part of the new agreement was underlined as well.

More detailed information is available in the Council Conclusions on Climate Change (PDF)

Soil

Although the Council has not yet reached political agreement on the draft directive establishing a framework for the protection of soil in the EU, the progress made so far concerning this draft directive was presented by the Spanish presidency and discussed by the Council members. Among the arguments of the ones opposing to the proposal was the issues of subsidiarity, the administrative burden and cost-effectiveness.

To date, soil has not been subject to a specific protection policy at EU level. The draft directive would establish a common strategy for the protection of soil, based on the principles of:

Other

Among the other topics discussed by the Environment Council were the proposed regulation setting CO2 emissions standards for light vans and the environmental aspects of the proposed new "Europe 2020" strategy for growth and jobs.

Romania presented the state of play on the Black Sea environmental partnership, which will be launched on 16 March 2010. It is aimed at creating a framework for regional cooperation on environment policy in the Black Sea area.

Without discussion, the Council adopted its first-reading position on a draft regulation concerning novel foods.

Documents:

PRESS RELEASE, 3002nd Council meeting, Environment, Brussels, 15 March 2010 (DOC)

Council conclusions on biodiversity post-2010 (PDF)

Council conclusions on Climate change (PDF)

Source: Council of the European Union