"Paris must be a permanent instrument for combatting climate change", says Isabel García Tejerina

Isabel García Tejerina explained that the "important" council meeting today is aimed at agreeing a clear negotiation mandate for the European Commission and the Presidency of the Council ahead of the Conference of the Parties (COP-21) in Paris in December. The Spanish minister said that "we must come up with clear rules today that help establish what we want to achieve in Paris".

Ambitious and binding agreement

The minister said that this mandate will be used to ask the Commission to reach a "binding and ambitious" agreement in Paris capable of ensuring that, in the long term, global temperatures never rise by more than two degrees centigrade.

Furthermore, Isabel García Tejerina believes it necessary for a series of more short-term objectives to be set in Paris, such as the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 60% when compared with emissions in 2010. In other words, "reach 2050 with growth producing much lower greenhouse gases emissions".

Isabel García Tejerina stressed that Paris must lay the foundations for the fight against climate change to be something permanent. In this regard, the Spanish minister believes it should be possible to constantly revise the contributions situation; in other words, whether they are sufficient or if they need to be revised slightly upwards. She also believes it should be possible for a re-assessment to be made every five years.

Furthermore, the minister said there is also a need for measurement mechanisms that are transparent and equal for all countries, which are capable of fostering dedication "to this dynamic permanent revision commitment, with transparent accounting rules, so that we can make a proper assessment".

The minister stressed that Spain's position at this council meeting is "absolutely positive and constructive because we want the Commission and the Presidency to have this mandate as soon as possible and be able to accelerate the whole negotiation process".

She went on to say that "the 28 Member States agree on achieving progress and being enormously ambitious in the fight against climate change", and this unanimous mandate will make the negotiation process leading up to Paris easier for the Commission and the Presidency.

Finally, Isabel García Tejerina stressed that the European Union is the most ambitious economic environment in the fight against climate change. In this regard, the Spanish minister explained that the 28 Member States were the first to present their commitments. Specifically, the EU committed in March to reducing its environmentally harmful emissions by at least 40% before 2030.