22 December 2009: The EU environmental ministers met as the Environment Council in Brussels, Belgium, on 22 December 2009, to discuss the outcome of the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference, among other things.
Ministers expressed disappointment over the Copenhagen outcome and agreed that the EU should continue to strive for high ambitions and leadership in the work on climate change. According to the EU Environmental Council’s conclusions, the Copenhagen Accord is “a first step which involves most parties and gives basis to reduction commitments, financing, monitoring reporting and verification (MRVs) and fight against deforestation.” It is also noted the EU strives for an agreement that is “legally binding for all parties and sufficiently ambitious to limit global warming well below 2°C compared to pre-industrial level by reducing global emissions by 50% by 2050.”
This was the last Environmental Council’s meeting under the Presidency of Sweden. The EU’s environment ministers will resume discussions on climate change at an informal meeting in Seville, Spain, on 15-17 January 2010, under the Presidency of Spain. [EU Press Release][Council Conclusions]