| Author (Corporate) | European Commission |
|---|---|
| Series Title | COM |
| Series Details | (2014) 290 final (23.05.14) |
| Publication Date | 23/05/2014 |
| Content Type | Policy-making |
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These proposals concern Council decisions, to be adopted pursuant to Article 218 (5) and (6) TFEU, to sign and conclude the agreement between the Union, the Member States and Iceland concerning Iceland's participation in the joint fulfilment of commitments of the Union, the Member States and Iceland in the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. In December 2012, at the Doha Climate Change Conference, the 192 Parties to the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) adopted an amendment to the Kyoto Protocol (the Doha Amendment). The Doha Amendment establishes a second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol, starting on 1 January 2013 and ending on 31 December 2020, with legally-binding emission reduction commitments for the Parties listed in its Annex B. Among these Parties are the Union, the Member States and Iceland. Article 4 of the Kyoto Protocol allows Parties to fulfil their commitments jointly. The Union and the fifteen Parties that were Member States when the Kyoto Protocol was signed in 1997 chose to do so for the first commitment period (2008-12), and agreed on/set out the terms of their joint fulfilment for the first commitment period when they ratified the Protocol in 2002. The Doha Amendment, and the statement made by the Union, the Member States and Iceland upon its adoption, express the intention of these Parties to fulfil their reduction targets under the second commitment period jointly. The Commission proposed a Council Decision on the conclusion of the Doha Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol to the UNFCCC and the joint fulfilment of commitments thereunder in November 2013. This proposal is currently under discussion. The intention to jointly fulfil the commitments in the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol with the European Union, its Member States and Iceland dates back to 2009. In a letter to the Presidency of the Council of the European Union dated 3 June 2009, Iceland requested formal talks on announcing a joint fulfilment of their commitments with the European Union and its Member States in a second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol. The Council, at its meeting on 15 December 2009, welcomed this request and invited the Commission to 'present a recommendation for the opening of the necessary negotiations with Iceland that is in line with the principles and criteria set out in the EU's Climate and Energy Package'. The Commission presented its recommendation for a Council Decision authorising the opening of negotiations with Iceland to the Council in June 2013. In December 2013, the Council gave the Commission a mandate to open, on behalf of the Union, negotiations with Iceland on an agreement that establishes the terms of joint fulfilment concerning Iceland's participation in the joint fulfilment of commitments by the Union, the Member States and Iceland. The representatives of the Member States in the Council also gave a mandate to the Commission to negotiate this agreement, on behalf of the Member States, with regard to areas falling in the competence of Member States. These negotiations have been conducted, in line with the negotiating directives, on the basis of Article 218 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and resulted in the agreement attached to this proposed Decision. |
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| Source Link | http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM:2014:290:FIN |
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| Subject Categories | Environment, Politics and International Relations |
| Countries / Regions | Europe, Iceland |
