Czechs to take part in climate talks after their EU presidency (České noviny)

The Czech Republic will participate in the preparation of the international treaty on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions to be signed in Copenhagen in December even after the Czech EU presidency ends, Environment Minister Ladislav Miko told CTK today.

The current Czech negotiators will take part in the talks as members of the EU presidency Troika, along with representatives of Sweden that will take over the EU presidency after the Czech Republic on July 1, and Spain that will preside over the EU in the first half of 2010.

Miko said Czechs had succeeded in the environmental management during the presidency in January-June.

In the number of the negotiated directives, the Czech presidency can be compared with the presidency of big countries, such as France, Miko noted.

The only unfulfilled task of the Czech presidency in this area is the directive on soil protection that is to determine the way of handling soil in the EU, he added.

Czechs have managed well the preparation of the international climate conference in Copenhagen though the EU has not yet reached a joint stance on the calculation method for the sum to be earmarked for developing countries to help them deal with climate change after 2012, Miko said.

The preparation of the Copenhagen conference will continue at an informal meeting of the EU countries' environment ministers in Sweden in three weeks. Then the issue will be debated at the G8 summit in Italy.

Moreover, an extraordinary U.N. session on climate change will be held before the conference in Denmark.

"Europa says it clearly that it has no plan B. It is prepared to fulfil its commitments, and possibly to increase them according to other countries' approach," Miko's deputy Jan Dusik told reporters.

The Copenhagen conference is to set goals in reducing greenhouse gas emissions after 2012 when the Kyoto Protocol expires.

The EU countries reiterated their commitments to decrease the green house gas emissions and financially help developing countries in this respect at the summit organised by the Czech presidency in mid-June. However, the EU politicians did not agree on the sum and method to divide the commitment among the member states.

The EU pledged previously to decrease the greenhouse gases emissions level from 1990 by 20 percent by 2020, respectively by 30 percent if other countries adopted the plan as well.

ČTK, České noviny, 29. 6. 2009, 18:00, News in English