The head of the United Nations’ effort on climate change, Yvo de Boer, expressed concern at the turmoil surrounding greenhouse gas emission targets that accompanied the meeting of EU leaders this week.
Ever the diplomat, de Boer, expressed confidence in French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s ability to re-forge an EU agreement before the next major international meeting to be held in Poland in December.
One would think that the EU leaders would be able to put something relatively concrete together. The fact that the meeting is taking place in Poland–which has been critical of strong EU emissions reduction agreements–will likely place pressure on the Polish government to step back a bit from its recalcitrant position. The outcome of the US election also will likely influence the emergence of a unified EU position.
The fact that both McCain and Obama have campaigned on different variants of a cap-and-trade policy could give the EU leverage to advocate for a strong plan that has a chance of being accepted as part of a post-Kyoto agreement. But they have to get their own house in order first.
