EU Ratification Of Kyoto Confirms NZ On Right Path

Auckland: Friday, 31 May 2002 – The European Union will today ratify the Kyoto Protocol on climate change in New York. Greenpeace applauded the EU’s decision to show leadership on climate change and New Zealand’s decision not to forfeit its responsibilities as its neighbour Australia is doing.

“This decision brings the Protocol’s entry into force much closer,” said Robbie Kelman, Greenpeace Climate Campaigner.

“New Zealand’s decision to ratify is in line with other progressive governments. Thankfully New Zealand has rejected Bush, his oil industry mates and Australia who have all tried to wreck international efforts to deal with this issue,” said Kelman

The Kyoto Protocol agreed in 1997 came out of the 1st Earth Summit in Rio. Ten years after the 1992 summit heads of government are now gathering in Bali for the final preparatory meeting before the 2002 Johannesburg Earth Summit in September.

With today’s EU ratification, the first condition for entry into force – of 55 Parties ratifying - has been largely met . It also means a dramatic jump in the percentage of industrialised country emissions now covered under the Protocol from 2.7% to around 26.7% – nearly half the required amount of 55%.

With the rejection of the Protocol by the USA, which accounts for 36.1% of the 1990 CO2 emissions of the industrialised countries, the principle route to entry into force requires now Russia, Japan, as well as Poland or most of a group made up of Central and East European countries and Switzerland to ratify the Protocol.

“With the possible ratification by Japan next week, the key question is Russia,” said Kelman. “President Putin made a clear commitment at this week’s Russia- EU summit that Russia will definitely ratify the Protocol, but no dates have been named.”

For more information:
Robbie Kelman, 021 565165

GRAPH AND NOTES OVERLEAF

NOTES TO EDITORS

The necessary threshold is also defined in Article 25 of the Kyoto Protocol. There are two basic conditions for the entry into force of the Kyoto Protocol. The first one is that at least 55 Parties to the Convention have ratified. However, the key barrier to the Protocol entering into force is not the number of ratifications but ensuring that the industrialised countries (Annex I Parties) that ratify are sufficiently large global warming polluters to exceed 55 per cent of the 1990 CO2.
As of today taking into account the 15 EU Member States and the EC, 70 Parties have already ratified the Kyoto Protocol from which the following Annex I Parties : Czech Republic, Romania, Norway representing respectively 1.2%, 1.2% and 0.3% of the total 1990 CO2 Annex I parties. The EU has a 24.2% share of the 1990 Annex I CO2 emissions.

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