G20 MEMBER COUNTRIES131Below:Herman VanRompuy, President of TheEuropean Councilinnovation. Secondly, the energy efficiency objectiveneeds to be on track as well: by 2020, Europe shoulduse 20 per cent less energy. It is another contributionto our overall reduction of greenhouse gas emissions:there is no cleaner energy than the non-used energy.There is a large potential for reduction, in particular intransport and in buildings, but more action is needed. Thirdly, Europe will promote investment in low-carbontechnologies: clean vehicles, smart grids etc. Financeis of course a crucial element. One should acknowledgethe risk that current pressure on national budgets leadsto cuts in growth creating policies. This would bedramatic, since investments in energy security andinnovative technologies are drivers for economicgrowth. This is why European leaders agreed that inconducting fiscal consolidation, expenditure fosteringsustainable growth in areas such as energy andinnovation deserves priority. Moreover, they reaffirmedto use 50 per cent of the revenue from the emissiontrading scheme for climate policies as from 2013. EUROPE NEEDS THE WORLD Europe is ambitious, but cannot tackle climate changeor biodiversity losses on its own. Global problems needglobal solutions. Europe truly believes in the addedvalue of common, global action. We believe in the two-track strategy: ambitious EU policies and a frameworkfor global action and cooperation. Last year was asuccessful year for multilateral environmental action:it saw the fruitful Nagoya and Cancun Summits. TheEU has invested a lot in helping to achieve such goodresults. Cancun has given a major boost to the process.The adoption of the Cancun Agreements in December2010 is certainly a milestone; it has proven that thereis a strong belief and willingness to develop a trueglobal partnership in the fight against global warming.The stepwise approach that we have developed forCancun seemed to be an effective and broadlyaccepted strategy. This strategy is still valid today. WHAT NOW FOR DURBAN? Our full support is with South-Africa to make Durban asuccess. Durban should build further on the renewedconfidence that Cancun created. Durban has to bringus a mix of implementation and negotiation. TheCancun agreements need to get real flesh and bonenow: new institutions, mechanisms and bodies have tobe set up, such as for adaptation and the ClimateGreen Fund. Yet the difficult issues need to be tackledtoo. Leaders should acknowledge the gap between theglobal ambition shown so far and the agreed 2°C ofmaximum global warming. Transparency arrangementshave to be fully developed. And we need a solution toensure the continuation of a rules-based system. Thereis still a long way to go, but Durban can bring usconsiderably further. Finally, the Durban Conference, on the Africancontinent, should remind us of the essentials of thefight against climate change: it is about solidarity withthe poorest countries. Moving towards a low-carbonworld is an act of solidarity with those who are mostvulnerable to the consequences of climate change.Europe is a major donor of the "fast-start" finance,both through the EU budget and the national budgets.The money is floating. We are on track to meet ourimportant commitment of 7.2 billion Euros over theperiod 2010-2012. This represents one third of theglobal commitment. Europe has developed climatepartnerships with developing countries all over theworld. Through these, we support climate action formitigation and adaptation. And we give priorityconsideration to the most vulnerable. The Union alsoconfirms to contribute to the global commitment of100 billion dollars by 2020. Climate solidarity willremain crucial. Our full support is with the South-African COP Presidency to make Durban into aSummit with success. n

n the past fifty years or so we have comeface to face with unusual climaticoccurrences, weather changes andenvironmental disasters. These are acorollary of the global pursuit of rapid growth, inparticular rapid growth of industrialisation and, veryoften, the mindless and predatory exploitation ofnatural resources to sustain such patterns ofdevelopment and industrialisation. These havehappened across the world, without distinguishingbetween rich and poor nations. There have been unprecedented heat-waves in the United Statesand Europe, devastating floods in China andtsunamis in South East Asia and more recently inJapan. All of these have highlighted the vulnerabilityand helplessness of human beings confronted withthe wrath of nature. The United Nations Conference held at Stockholm in1972 marked the first major international event todeal with environmental issues. But securing globalcooperation for the protection and preservation of theenvironment has proved quite difficult, as eachcountry has sought to protect its own perceivednational interest. There has also been a dividebetween the north and the south, which theinternational community has failed to bridge thusfar. Protecting and preserving the environment is nota divisible task, as the acts of omissions andcommissions of one nation or one set of peopleimpinge on the others and vice-versa. Therefore, allcountries, both rich and poor, developed anddeveloping, countries of the north and countries ofthe south need to cooperate in this sort of globaleffort. In general, in the increasingly integrated worldthat we live in, we have to devise co-operativesolutions to deal with the pressing emerging globalchallenges and concerns. Environment and climateANATIONALAGENDA FORENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION132G20 MEMBER COUNTRIESDR MANMOHAN SINGH, PRIME MINISTER, INDIAIPhoto: UN Photo/Evan Schneider