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PRESS RELEASE

Climate negotiators outline possible contents of emissions cuts agreement

Bonn, 7 March 1997 - The sixth round of talks on future reductions in greenhouse gas emissions by developed countries concluded here today, setting the stage for finalizing a new agreement over the coming months.

Delegates to the Ad hoc Group on the Berlin Mandate (AGBM) focused on streamlining and merging a series of government proposals that had earlier been consolidated into a single document. While some sections of the document were indeed shortened and restructured during the week, others have been revised by adding new ideas and paragraphs.

This negotiating text will be distributed in all UN languages by 1 June and will be the subject of further talks in Bonn in August and October. A new agreement under the Climate Change Convention is to be finalized by ministers when they meet in December in Kyoto, Japan.

During the talks the European Union challenged other developed countries to agree to a 15% cut in a basket of greenhouse gases by the year 2010 compared to 1990 levels (the basket is based on a weighted total of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide using their 100-year "global warming potentials"). EU ministers had agreed earlier this week that this would be a common EU target. The final numbers for developed country targets and timetables will be determined during the next negotiating rounds.

The EU proposal sparked a renewed debate on "differentiation". While some countries support a common target for all developed-country Parties, others believe that targets should vary by country while respecting an agreed overall target. However, because the EU is itself a Party to the Convention, it can commit itself collectively to the common target that other non-EU countries must adhere to individually. The EU has agreed on how to share out 10 percentage points of its proposed 15% cut, ranging from a 40% increase in emissions for Portugal to a 30% cut for Luxumbourg and 25% cuts for Austria, Denmark and Germany; the remaining 5 percentage points are to be divvied up when and if the EU proposal is internationally accepted.

The negotiating text retains differing views on the policies and measures that could be adopted to meet agreed targets and timetables. Some governments (notably EU members) argue the need for internationally coordinated policies. Others say it would be more cost-efficient to allow each country to adopt the policies and measures best suited to its national circumstances. Other issues on which various negotiating positions are reflected in the text include emissions trading permits, the "joint implementation" of emissions cuts, the use of multi-year "budgets" in the timetable, the possible impacts of developed-country policies on developing-country economies, and the evolution of future commitments by all Parties.

A series of related subsidiary body meetings last week also produced decisions important to the Convention process. They concerned administrative and budget issues, technology transfer, methodological issues, and the Convention's financial "mechanism". Including government representatives and unofficial observers, over 850 participants were present at the current subsidiary body sessions. The talks will be reconvened in Bonn from 28 July to 7 August (at the Maritim Hotel) and from 20-31 October. The third session of the COP is scheduled for Kyoto from 1-10 December. The Climate Change Convention was adopted at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. It entered into force on 21 March 1994 and has been ratified by 164 countries and the EU. Under the Convention, developed countries have agreed to take measures aimed at returning their greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2000. At the first session of the treaty's Conference of the Parties (COP) in 1995 in Berlin, governments recognized that stronger measures were needed for minimizing the risk of climate change. They established the Ad hoc Group on the Berlin Mandate to negotiate new developed-country commitments for the post-2000 period.

Note to journalists:

Amb. Raul Estrada of Argentina, chairman of the AGBM,and Mr. Michael Zammit Cutajar, Executive Secretary of the Convention secretariat, will brief the press at 1:30 on Friday, 7 March, in Room A of the Stadthalle.

For more information please contact Michael Williams at +49-172-263-1664 or after today at the Information Unit for Conventions at +41-22-979-9242/44, fax +41-22-797-3464, e-mail mwilliams@unep.ch. For information on accreditation and related matters, please contact Axel Wustenhagen, UN Information Centre in Bonn (49-228) 815-2770, fax 815-2777, e-mail unic@uno.de. Please note that official documents and other materials are available in English on the Internet at http://www.unfccc.de.