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16 june 2001
gothenburg,
kyoto - bush increasingly isolated
eu pressing ahead with kyoto
Greenpeace - WWF - Friends of the Earth
(FoE), the three largest international
environmental groups welcomed the conclusions
of the EU Heads of state and government to
isolate President George W Bush by their
decision to go ahead with the implementation
and ratification of the Kyoto Protocol.
At the end of the three-day meeting the
European Union concluded that " The Union and
its Member States are determined to meet
their own commitments under the Kyoto
Protocol. The Commission will prepare a
proposal for the ratification before the end
of 2001 making it possible for the Union and
its Member States to fulfil their commitment
to rapidly ratify the Kyoto Protocol".
"In other words, this means that the EU
has agreed at its highest political level to
go UNILATERALLY for the implementation and
ratification of the Kyoto Protocol", said
Kate Hampton, International Climate Campaign
Coordinator of Friends of Earth (FoE). "We
welcome agreement within the EU to take this
small but difficult initial step," Hampton
added.
Furthermore, the conclusions stated that
the "European Union will work to ensure the
widest possible participation of
industrialised countries in an effort to
ensure the entry into force of the Protocol
by 2002."
"We are pleased to see that the EU
continues to lead the world on climate
change", said Dennis Pamlin, WWF Climate
change campaign. "Bush has definitely failed
to convince the EU to ignore worldwide public
outcry about climate change. Now he must step
aside, not obstruct and let other countries
to move ahead. We are particularly delighted
with the announcement that the EU will visit
Japan and other countries in the next weeks
to convince them to join the EU to ratify the
Kyoto Protocol", Pamlin added.
Now it is time to translate the words into
action. The world will meet in four weeks'
time (16- 27 July) in Bonn, Germany, to
resume the talks that faltered in The Hague
at the end of last year. At the resumed COP6,
the world will decide on the modalities to
proceed with the Kyoto Protocol.
"From now until the end of Bonn, we will
harness the public outcry against Bush to
show that Kyoto is the vital first step to
save the climate", said Michel Raquet,
Greenpeace International spokesperson.
"We believe that USA will not come back to
the Kyoto Protocol under the Bush
administration and that the EU has a special
responsibility to make the Protocol workable.
People all around the world put their hope in
the EU to conclude an environmental Protocol.
There is no time to waste", Raquet
concluded.
For further information
Kate Hampton, Friends of the Earth:
+44-774-896.7323
Dennis Pamlin, WWF : +46-70-78.78.178
Michel Raquet, Greenpeace : +32-496-16.33.65
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