EU meets govt on climate change

JAKARTA: The presidency of the European Union (EU) represented by the ambassadors of Sweden, Spain and the European Commission, carried out a demarche to the Indonesian Foreign Ministry with the emphasis that at the negotiations in Bangkok this week, the deadlock had to be broken for the Copenhagen Summit to have any chance of success.

The meeting was held as part of the EU's global effort to mobilize political support to achieve an ambitious agreement at the summit in December.

The key messages conveyed by the EU, which will be directly forwarded to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, included urging for more action on tackling environmental problems and the vulnerability of archipelagic nations to the effects of climate change.

According to an EU press release at the weekend, the least developed countries and archipelagic island states such as Indonesia are the countries most severely affected by climate change.

"Our solidarity with them compels the EU to take necessary action without delay," said the press release.

"The EU is prepared to reduce emissions by 30 percent in the context of an ambitious international agreement that will enable climate change to stay below two degrees, provided that other developed countries make comparable reduction commitments and advanced developing countries contribute adequately according to their responsibilities and respective capabilities," the press release said. - JP