By Martin Banks - 2nd September 2009
We in developed nations need to demonstrate leadership, both through our own measures to reduce emissions and through financing
Swedish environment minister Andreas Carlgren
EU ambitions on tackling global warming "must be translated into concrete measures", according to Swedish environment minister Andreas Carlgren.
Speaking in the European parliament on Wednesday, Carlgren said one of the "top priorities" of the Swedish presidency of the EU was to reach a "comprehensive and ambitious" agreement at the UN summit in Copenhagen in December.
"First of all we need to raise the bids that are on the table," he told members of the committee on environment, public health and food safety.
"The industrialised countries have offered a decrease of about 15 per cent by 2020. The measures planned by developing countries offer only about four per cent deviation from the ´business-as-usual´ scenario.
"We are, therefore, still a long way from what the IPCC has deemed necessary in order to achieve the two-degree target."
Carlgren, who has been in his post for three years, said one of the challenges was the "lack of confidence" from poorer developing countries.
"Another problem is the lack of concrete commitments from developing countries with rapidly expanding economies.
"We in developed nations need to demonstrate leadership, both through our own measures to reduce emissions and through financing," he added.
He said the Swedish six-month presidency "got off to a flying start" in July with an informal meeting of EU environment ministers where, he said, he received "firm support" from his colleagues to "take the negotiations forward."
But he urged parliament to provide "added impetus" to the process, adding, "We need to influence not only governments but also parliaments and public opinion on the seriousness of the climate threat and the gains to be made through early adaptation."
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