11 December - Outcome of EU Council

The two day European Union Council has concluded today (11 December) in Brussels. Amongst other conclusions, EU Leaders confirmed the EU's commitment to providing its fair share of 'fast-start' financing for a launch fund to enable immediate implementation of a Copenhagen deal. Specifically, the EU together will contribute £2.4bn per annum for the years 2010 – 2012.

In a statement earlier on 11th December, Prime Minister Brown and President Sarkozy confirmed that the UK and France would each contribute around £1.2bn over the three year period. Prime Minister Brown added that the UK would be prepared to increase its share to £1.5bn in response to other global offers to the fund.

Extracts from the conclusions.

Preamble:

... The European Council exchanged views on how the EU could best contribute to a successful outcome at the Copenhagen Conference on climate change. Reconfirming the position it had agreed at its October meeting, it stated the readiness of the EU and its Member States to contribute with fast-start funding of EUR 2.4 billion annually for the years 2010 to 2012....

Conclusions:

IV. The Copenhagen Conference on climate change

34. The Copenhagen Conference constitutes a historic opportunity for the international community to act together to respond to the challenge of climate change. The European Council recalls the negotiating position that it adopted on 30 October 2009. All Parties must devote themselves fully to reaching a global, comprehensive, ambitious and politically binding Copenhagen Agreement that will cover all building blocks of the Bali Action Plan and builds on the essential elements of the Kyoto Protocol. A prerequisite for a Copenhagen Agreement is that it uses commonly agreed, transparent, international standards for measurement, reporting and verification, thus ensuring transparency and compliance of commitments, actions and support. In this context, the European Union will support efforts towards enhancing international environmental governance. The agreement should lead to finalising a legally binding instrument, preferably within six months after the Copenhagen Conference, for the period starting on 1 January 2013.

35. The European Council welcomes in this context the recent pledges for emission reductions from a number of countries. Our common objective must be to stay below the science-based two degree limit for global warming. Some Parties have not yet presented offers corresponding to this objective. The European Council urges developed countries to do so without further delay and developing countries, especially the more advanced, to commit to appropriate mitigation action.

36. The European Union is at the forefront of efforts to fight climate change. As part of a global and comprehensive agreement for the period beyond 2012, the EU reiterates its conditional offer to move to a 30% reduction by 2020 compared to 1990 levels, provided that other developed countries commit themselves to comparable emission reductions and that developing countries contribute adequately according to their responsibilities and respective capabilities.

37. The Copenhagen Agreement should include provisions on immediate action, starting in 2010. The European Council acknowledges that this requires scaled up financial support. Fast-start international public support should imply specific and separate support for adaptation, mitigation, including forestry and capacity building, with a special emphasis on vulnerable and least developed countries. The EU calls on developed countries to announce their contributions to such support, in line with the October European Council conclusions. The EU is confident that a global amount of EUR 7 billion annually will be reached. The EU and its Member States are ready to contribute with fast-start funding of EUR 2.4 billion annually for the years 2010 to 2012.

38. In addition, the European Council recognises the need for a significant increase in public and private financial flows to 2020 and reiterates its conclusions of October 2009. In that context the European Council reconfirms its commitment to provide its fair share of international public support.

Download the full conclusions. (PDF 186.24KB)