6 October Environment Council

Date: 08/10/1998

MINISTERS adopted a set of conclusions setting out the EU's strategy on climate change ahead of next month's international talks on the issue in Buenos Aires. They stressed that the developed countries must take the lead in tackling the problem of global warming and said substantial progress needed to be made at the Buenos Aires meeting. Ministers also agreed that so-called 'flexible mechanisms', including emissions trading, or buying the right to pollute from other countries, should only be used to supplement domestic greenhouse gas reduction initiatives. The Council argued that a ceiling on the use of flexible mechanisms therefore needed to be defined.

THE Council accepted a voluntary offer from EU car manufacturers to reduce the carbon dioxide emitted by new cars by around one quarter over the next ten years. Carmakers' lobby ACEA made its offer in July in a bid to avoid the introduction of binding legislation. The pledge means that carmakers will have to cut average fuel consumption to 5.8 litres per 100km by 2008. “This is the biggest voluntary agreement with industry within Europe,” said UK Environment Minister Michael Meacher.

But Austrian Minister Martin Bartenstein, who chaired the meeting, stressed the ACEA offer could only deliver around 70&percent; of the EU's target for reducing CO2 emissions from cars.

EUROPEAN Commission plans to update the rules governing the approval and marketing of crops and seeds containing genetically modified organisms were discussed. Ministers took note of progress on proposed amendments to the 1990 law (Directive 90/220) which sets out the current approval procedure. They generally welcomed the approach suggested by the Commission, but several delegations expressed concern about implementation of the simplified approval procedure and labelling requirements. Ministers also stressed that public health and consumer protection had to be balanced against the need for a sufficiently flexible approval procedure. They expressed a wish to reach agreement on the issue at their next meeting in December.