EU urges greater momentum on UN climate change agreement

Up to 190 nations will next week begin drafting a new climate treaty in Bangkok

European Union officials intend to press for “solid progress” when formal negotiations over a new UN climate change agreement start in Bangkok on Monday.

The week-long summit will be the first major meeting since the UN climate conference in Bali last December, where it was agreed to launch further negotiations for a post-2012 global climate agreement.

“The EU would like to see a comprehensive decision reached on a detailed and substantive work plan that addresses the central issues of the future agreement's objective (or ‘shared vision’), reduction of emissions, adaptation to climate change, technology transfer and finance,” the EU said in a statement.

The EU is calling for developed countries to commit to reducing their collective emissions to 30 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020.

Developing countries, led by China and India, will also be under the spotlight in Bangkok. Industry watchers believe the upcoming negotiations will indicate the extent to which developing countries are willing to curb their rising emissions, primarily caused by increased burning of fossil fuels.

The Bangkok talks are the first of four major UN negotiation sessions to be held this year, with the next meeting scheduled to take place in Bonn in June.