The Friends of Europe Café Crossfire on 3 February examined the road ahead following the drafting of the Copenhagen Accord in December. “A post mortem requires a corpse and, since there is no corpse, the negotiations are still under way,” allowed Karl Friedrich Falkenberg, European Commission Director General for the Environment. The panel agreed that, while the summit was not a complete success, neither was it a complete failure and that strong commitments from the European Union and its industries are needed to move beyond the politically-binding framework of the Copenhagen Accord and re-inject optimism into the UNFCCC process. Programme: World opinion is deeply divided over the achievements and failures of the Copenhagen summit with no clear timeline and no firm commitment to cut emissions. Its aftermath is certain to reflect the severely negative reactions of the international media, even though disappointed press comment may be eclipsing some of the more positive aspects of the deal, notably that the Copenhagen Accord was agreed by developed and developing countries, accounting together for over 80% of global emissions, and the rich countries’ commitment to mobilise $100bn in financial support by 2020. The Copenhagen Accord’s chief weaknesses are the lack of a legally binding global deal and widespread concerns by industry that it doesn’t deliver the certainty and level playing field needed to plan the huge necessary industrial investments. But Copenhagen is an intermediary step on the road to a binding global treaty starting with the first milestone on January 31st 2010 of national commitments to reduce emissions. What is the outlook now for industries struggling to reduce greenhouse gas emissions despite the uncertain and perhaps increasingly volatile political background that is Copenhagen’s legacy? How can the EU now practically advance the fight against climate change, ensuring the 2°C target is met, and safeguard other crucial considerations, such as security of energy supply and economic viability of European energy intensive industries?

Featuring:

Bo Diczfalusy, Director of Sustainable Energy Policy and Technology at the International Energy Agency (IEA) Karl Friedrich Falkenberg, European Commission Director General for the Environment Jo Leinen MEP, Chairman of the European Parliament Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Isabelle Muller, Secretary General of the European Petroleum Industry Association (EUROPIA)

Moderated by Giles Merritt, Secretary General of Friends of Europe.