Further steps in the fight against climate change

The Council

• approved the Doha Amendment and requested the consent of the European Parliament in order to adopt a decision on the conclusion of the amendment.
• decided to sign and approve in agreement with Iceland on its participation in the fulfilment of the commitments for the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol.
• requested the consent of the European Parliament on that text in order to adopt the decision on its conclusion.

Background

The Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change sets binding emission reduction targets for 37 industrialized countries and the EU in its first commitment period (2008 to 2012). Overall, these targets add up to an average 5% emissions reduction compared to 1990 levels.

At the Doha climate change conference in December 2012, the 192 Parties to the Kyoto Protocol adopted an amendment, which establishes a second commitment period (from 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2020) and sets 2015 as the deadline for the development of a framework for a global agreement to be implemented from 2020. The Doha amendment will enter into force once three quarters of the 192 Parties have ratified it.

The EU has been a major player in the fight against climate change and has been actively engaged in international negotiations. The Lima conference in December 2014 was the last of the intermediate international climate conferences between Durban, where the mandate to negotiate a global agreement by 2015 was decided, and Paris, where the global agreement needs to be adopted in December 2015.Ratification of the Doha Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol enhances the credibility of the EU and its member states in the UN climate negotiations and  is a valuable contribution to global climate action for the years leading up to 2020.