From 8 to 10 November 2015, representatives arrived in Paris from over 70 countries for the traditional 'Pre-COP' 21 event to develop ideas for a global climate agreement at the climate conference which will take place in the French capital in late November.
The European Union was represented at the event by Luxembourg Minister for the Environment Carole Dieschbourg and Climate Commissioner Miguel Aria Cañete. Also in attendance were major greenhouse gase emitters and countries vulnerable to the impacts of climate change such as Bangladesh, small island developing states (SIDS) and Niger.
Minister Carole Dieschborug undelrine the EU's ambition to reach a robust and ambitious agreement which goes beyond the lowest common denominator.
"In this context, a lot remains to be done before COP21; we must find common ground on key issues, such as funding to developing countries, a long-term objective or agreement transparency," commented Minister Dieschbourg. "If these two days of talks have failed to remove all blockages, they nevertheless allowed a glimpse of the outline of what the future agreement would look like. Now we need political leadership and a spirit of compromise".
In addition to these consultations, the minister had several bilateral meetings, including with the new Canadian Environment Minister Catherine McKenna, who called for a stronger commitment of his country to the COP21. Carole Dieschbourg said: "I welcome this development and taking on Canada, which is a very important player at global level, in order to reach an ambitious global agreement."
Photo by European Commission
