MEP calls for sectoral agreements to tackle Climate Change after Copenhagen failure

Parliament’s Environment Committee chairman Jo Leinen (Germany, S&D) has said that the EU should examine alternatives to international climate change talks, in view of the difficulties in reaching agreement under the UN process. Leinen suggested that an alternative approach could be to go for sectoral agreements that only involve countries that undertake a particular activity with implications for global warming. He identified the potential of global carbon cutting agreements in areas such as cement or steel, should the UN negotiation process fail to deliver a binding climate treaty. The benefit of a sectoral approach is that that they can deliver quick results, as they can be worked out between fewer countries.

Leinen added that agreement through the UN framework was still the most favourable vehicle for tackling climate change, as this was the only type of deal capable of producing a binding convention. If the UN process was not working, however, then plurilateral agreements should be considered.

This call is echoed by the CSIⁱ move to seek an agreement on a sectoral approach in the cement industry on a G8 (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States) + 5 (Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa) basis representing over 80% of world production.