EU Commissioner Dimas Welcomes European Parliament Decision to Set Up Temporary Committee on Climate Change

Business Wire, April 25, 2007

WASHINGTON -- European Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas warmly welcomed today's decision by the European Parliament to set up a temporary committee on climate change to coordinate its position on climate change-related policies.

"Following the Commission's presentation of the integrated climate and energy package in January and its endorsement by the Spring European Council in March, the European Parliament's creation of this special committee further underlines the priority all EU institutions attach to winning the battle against climate change," Commissioner Dimas said. "The Parliament's support for strong action on climate change is very important in developing the Community's agenda in this crucial area and I am confident the new committee will make a significant contribution in this regard as well as to the international debate. I look forward to working closely with the temporary committee in parallel with the continued legislative work of the Committee for Environment to overcome this enormous global challenge."

Commissioner Dimas stressed that the new committee could play a very helpful role in encouraging third countries, particularly the United States, to take action to tackle climate change, in raising awareness and in pushing climate change to the top of the international agenda. With the Kyoto Protocol's targets due to expire in 2012, Commissioner Dimas underlined the urgent need to launch international negotiations on a new global agreement to combat climate change at the next UN ministerial conference on climate change in December. He expressed hope that the European Parliament would use its contacts and dialogues with parliamentary assemblies in other countries to help prepare the ground for a successful outcome of these negotiations in line with the high level of ambition set out in the integrated climate and energy package.