The EU, once the leader in UN climate negotiations, has been "sidelined" at COP21 in Paris by major players such as the US, China and India, Oxfam International has claimed.
Brussels-based Lies Craeynest, one of Oxfam’s climate change experts, said the EU was “sitting back” and even ran the risk of being “locked out of the room” as it was at the abortive Copenhagen climate summit in 2009.
“EU member nations often express positions in line with those of vulnerable countries, but solidarity is more than just words. It needs to be measured by whether the EU stands for a strong deal here in Paris,” Ms Craeynest said.
But Luxembourg climate attaché Sarah Blau, representing the European Council, denied the claim, saying the EU was “definitely participating” in the negotiations and playing its “traditional bridge-building role”.
Elina Bardram, speaking for the European Commission, said there was “no room for complacency”. The hard work of negotiating had just started, and the EU was pressing for a shorter and sharper text before ministers arrived next week.
Right deal
Ms Bardram said the EU was “actively exploring a middle ground” between the competing demands of different blocs at COP21 and wanted to ensure “we get the right deal to put the world on a path to avoid dangerous climate change”.
Speaking at a press conference earlier hosted by the Climate Action Network, Ms Craeynest said the French presidency of COP21 was playing a key role at the conference, but “shouldn’t let its eye off the ball” regarding the EU’s role.
Otherwise, she warned that there was a danger of the EU becoming an “absent player” in the negotiations and “could end up as a deal-taker, rather than a deal-maker” – with the risk that the deal itself would be a weak one.
On climate aid for developing countries, she said the EU “can make a difference by supporting strong anchors for finance in the agreement, particularly for adaptation”, as well as moving next week to adopt a tax on financial transactions.
US climate envoy Todd Stern said COP21 was “getting down to business” after being given “a great deal of positive momentum” by US president Barack Obama and other world leaders. “We are off to a good start, even though we have issues that are still challenging,” he said.
Mr Stern said the US was seeking a “durable, lasting agreement” and that the pledges made so far by 180-plus countries – “an almost unbelievable number” – should be reviewed every five years or so to ensure that the world “remains on track”.
The negotiations had now entered their “sausage-making phase”, in the words of veteran observer Alden Meyer of the Union of Concerned Scientists after the momentum created by Monday’s series of speeches by world leaders.
Vulnerable countries
“Progress is mixed, and it’s clear that several key issues will be left to ministers to resolve next week,” Mr Meyer said. “Finance issues continue to be the most difficult, with little movement forward as negotiators continue to hold their chips close to their chest.”
He said the “atmospherics” in relation to a loss-and-damage mechanism for vulnerable developing countries “seem to have improved, on the heels of a productive meeting between Mr Obama and leaders of small island states”.
