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Second Weimar Triangle Meeting of the Environment Ministers in Berlin

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Second Weimar Triangle Meeting of the Environment Ministers in Berlin Second Weimar Triangle Meeting of the Environment Ministers Berlin, 26th February 2014 During the meeting in Berlin, on 26th February 2014, the Ministers of Environment of the Federal Republic of Germany, the French Republic and the Republic of Poland exchanged views on international and European climate policy. In addition they reflected on the Post 2015-Agenda. International Climate Policy The Ministers welcomed the outcome of last year’s UN climate conference in Warsaw. They highlighted in particular the agreement on a timetable for reaching a comprehensive legally binding climate agreement by the 21th Conference of the Parties in Paris which included a call on all states to prepare post-2020 contributions by the first quarter of 2015. The Ministers reiterated their support for urgent action to tackle the challenge of climate change, a challenge whose scale has become more apparent in the light of the latest findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. They undertook therefore to work closely together to ensure that the EU submits in a timely manner a contribution for the period after 2020 that is commensurate with the global ambition to limit temperature increase to below 2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial times. The Ministers further noted the continuing global shortfall in pre-2020 climate mitigation efforts as highlighted by the latest UNEP Emissions Gap Report (2013). They therefore undertook to work closely with international partners, in 2014 and beyond, to exploit the scope for possible enhancing pre-2020 mitigation through inter alia increased action on energy efficiency, renewable energy, fluorinated greenhouse gases, short-lived climate pollutants, land use, land use change and forestry including through reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, fossil fuel subsidy reform and transport emissions. The Ministers also emphasized the importance of the swift completion of the process of ratification of the Doha amendment to the Kyoto Protocol. 2 Meanwhile, the Ministers recognized the urgent need to identify and encourage all possible actions to further reduce GHG emissions and human induced impacts on climate, through domestic and international initiatives as well as through market and non-market mechanisms. Bridging the ambition gap will facilitate an ambitious work towards the future agreement. European Climate Policy To play a leading role on the global level, in line with the expectation that developed countries take the lead, the EU must have a clear position on its domestic emissions reductions through to 2030, as a contribution towards keeping within the 2 degree objective where by developed countries as a group should reduce their GHG emissions below 1990 levels through domestic and complementary international efforts by 25 to 40% by 2020 and by 80 to 95% by 2050 while developing countries as a group should achieve a substantial deviation below the currently predicted emissions growth rate, in the order of 15-30% by 2020. The Ministers welcomed that the European Commission has put forward the proposal initiating a discussion on an EU climate and energy framework including a domestic greenhouse gas emissions reduction target of 40% by 2030 as well as a proposal on a EU wide legally binding renewables target and increasing energy efficiency. The document should on the one hand lead to agreeing in due time, the EU contribution towards the global agreement to be adopted in Paris, and on the other hand start a policy debate on future EU climate and energy policy framework. The Ministers underlined that an ambitious EU greenhouse gas emissions reductions target will be central to unlocking substantial investments we urgently need, driving forward cutting-edge innovation, jobs and growth that will strengthen our economies and contribute to a more robust and competitive industry in the EU. To achieve net gain in jobs in Europe, effective measures against carbon leakage, especially in energy-intensive sectors facing international competition, are necessary. 2 of 3 | www.bmub.bund.de/en 3 In addition the Ministers agreed that development of renewable energies and strong emphasis on energy efficiency are key elements of the EU climate policy. The Ministers agreed that the EU Emissions Trading Scheme plays an important role in driving CO2 emissions down in a cost-effective manner. In that regard, they expressed their interest in working on the proposal from the Commission on structural reform of the scheme. Furthermore, an energy strategy for 2030 is needed for Europe’s key strategic energy challenges: ensuring a safe and sustainable use of the EU’s indigenous energy resources and controlling our growing import dependency on increasingly expensive fossil fuels. In this context the Ministers underlined the importance of demand side management for an effective energy and climate policy. The Ministers recognized that EU climate and energy policies have a differential impact across Member States. It is important to recognize that Member States have different starting points and capabilities thereof, and that the levels of reductions they have currently achieved are different as well. Therefore the Ministers agreed that discussion should be engaged in due time with respect to the detailed implementation of the framework in this regard. Post 2015 The Ministers agreed that sustainable development and human well-being can only be achieved if economic growth respects the ecological bearing capacities of the earth. Therefore, they called for the strong and active engagement of all EU environment ministers in the preparatory processes to ensure that the environmental dimension of sustainable development is firmly embedded in the post-2015 Agenda and is consistent and supportive of climate objectives. They strongly supported an active role of the EU and its Member States, in the ongoing processes to elaborate Sustainable Development Goals and the overall Post 2015-Agenda, while taking full advantage of the innovative format of the Open Working Group. 3 of 3 | www.bmub.bund.de/en .
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