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.