Positive signs in Copenhagen

The Prime Minister of Tuvalu, the low-lying Polynesian island nation in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, visited the European Parliament this week to draw international attention to the grave situation his country faces as a result of climate change. Rising sea levels and an increase in severe weather events such as tsunamis pose a direct and immediate threat, and he believes that only a legally binding agreement in Copenhagen offers the protection his country needs from the dangers of further climate change.

Now that the Climate Conference is under way, there are some positive signs coming from key players in the negotiations. The European Union has just announced its intention to contribute €7.2 billion over the next three years to a fund to help developing countries adapt to climate change. This indicates the genuine and continued commitment of European countries to tackling climate change - and such a commitment will incentivise the Copenhagen negotiations and encourage further commitments and efforts by others.

The financial commitment of EU governments follows the ambitious resolution from the European Parliament on the EU strategy for the Copenhagen negotiations. The S&D Group played a key role in drafting this resolution and supporting crucial parts of the text on issues such as mitigation and adaptation financing, financing to developing countries, deforestation, energy efficiency, a global carbon market, emission cuts, and emissions trading. Our group was central to the success of the EU's Climate Package this time last year, and we have followed that up with a resolution which represents a blueprint for global action.

There are also some encouraging signs of genuine commitments from other world leaders and major economies. Although the delay in passing a climate change bill in the US Senate earlier this year has made it harder for the administration to negotiate with concrete figures in Copenhagen, President Obama has now announced an emission reduction commitment. And China, having already implemented emission reduction policies, is now committed to a 40% reduction in the carbon intensity of its economy by 2020. Yet despite these encouraging steps in recent weeks, the early stages of the conference have highlighted new problem areas and divisions, even between developing countries who previously held a fairly united position. Everyone will need to give and compromise, but there is little doubt that failing to resolve outstanding difficulties in the near future will result in serious consequences - not just for low-lying island nations like Tuvalu in the Pacific, but for all of us.

Members of our political group - some of whom have helped to produce the most ambitious climate legislation to date - will participate in the European Parliament's delegation to the conference. Members of national parliaments from many countries have worked hard to produce climate legislation at national and European level, and this has been vital in the run-up to Copenhagen. But now the conference is taking place, the responsibility lies with national leaders to make the global deal.

Article written by S@D Romanian MEP Daciana Sarbu