The European Parliament adopted by 485 votes to 109, with 45 abstentions, a resolution on the Climate Change Conference (COP 18) to be held in Doha from 26 November to 8 December 2012. The resolution was tabled by the EPP, S&D, ALDE, Greens/EFA, ECR and GUE/NGL groups.

Durban Platform for Enhanced Action: Parliament states that the Doha Conference must build on the momentum achieved in Durban in order to ensure that a legally binding global agreement remains on track and will be delivered by 2015 . It stresses that the EU needs to lead by example, by implementing its commitments and demonstrating ambition on both mitigation and finance. Accordingly, it is the responsibility of all the EU institutions, in advance of the Doha Conference, to engage in intensive climate diplomacy and the building of international alliances to ensure that the commitments made in the Durban Package are honoured and that the UNFCCC process is streamlined towards a new multilateral regime to be agreed by 2015.

Parliament emphasises that it is important to clarify how the Convention principles will be applied in a post-2020 framework so that all the Parties take on commitments, and the new market-based mechanism, defined at COP 17, is of particular importance in this regard. The new legal instrument will need to ensure mitigation action in line with a global carbon budget consistent with maintaining climate change at below 2°C compared with preindustrial levels, along with the means for the required climate action in developing countries, as well as robust accounting, monitoring and reporting and a robust enforcement and compliance regime.

Kyoto Protocol - second commitment period: Members state that the EU has to intensify its efforts to find solutions for joint measures to bring all the main actors on board to agree to a second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol to begin on 1 January 2013, as a transition to a new, more effective and comprehensive legally binding international regime binding all the Parties , to enter into force by 2020. Taking note of the absence of the USA, Russia, Japan and Canada from the possible second commitment period and of the uncertainty of Australia and New Zealand about joining it, and the continuing lack of emissions reduction targets for developing countries such as China, India, Brazil and Indonesia, Parliament calls for the adoption in Doha of the necessary amendments so that the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol, which will end on 31 December 2020, can start immediately on a provisional basis.

Members call on those Annex B Parties which have not yet done so to submit their quantified emission limitation or reduction objectives (QELROs), and welcome the initial EU submission in this regard. They stress that the carry-over of assigned amount units (AAUs) to the second commitment period would undermine the integrity of the Kyoto Protocol, and point out that if Member States are allowed to transfer AAUs, the Kyoto Protocol will have no real effect on climate mitigation. Welcoming the proposal of the Group of 77 and China effectively to contain and minimise the use of the surplus, Parliament notes that the EU has so far not put forward a proposal to address the surplus of AAUs.

Mitigation gap: Members emphasise the urgent need for all the Parties, firstly, to implement their pledges and, secondly, to raise their ambition levels between now and 2020, in order to stay within the 2 C objective. There must be progress in closing the ‘gigatonne gap’ between the scientific findings and the Parties’ current pledges, together with binding commitments , based on the principle of ‘common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities’: poorer countries should – through financial and technological assistance, but also capacity-building measures – be enabled to make the direct transition to an advanced low‑carbon energy and economic system. Parliament calls, in particular, on the Parties to take urgent measures, with effect by 2015 at the latest, to reduce emissions from international aviation and maritime transport, along with other relevant sectors, and to reduce hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), black carbon, methane and other short-lived climate forcers, in order to close the gap with the 2ºC objective.

The resolution recalls that, according to the findings of the IPCC’s Fourth Assessment Report, industrialised countries need to reduce their domestic emissions by 25-40 % below 1990 levels by 2020, while developing countries as a group should achieve a substantial deviation below the currently predicted emissions growth rate, of the order of 15-30 %, by 2020. It states that it is in the EU’s own interest to aim for a climate protection target of 30 % by 2020 , thus creating sustainable growth, additional jobs and decreasing dependency on energy imports.

Climate finance: Members stress the urgent need to avoid a financing gap after 2012 (when the fast-start finance period ends) and to work towards the identification of a path for securing climate funding from 2013 to 2020 from a variety of sources. The majority of Member States have still not made any pledges for climate financing post-2013. Parliament notes with concern that while developed countries have committed themselves to providing USD 100 billion a year for climate financing by 2020, there is so far no internationally agreed definition of what ‘new and additional’ actually means. It calls on the Commission to ensure that financing is new and additional, and further to promote innovative financing sources, such as international financial transaction taxes and international air and sea transport duties.

Land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF): Parliament calls on the EU to promote agro‑forestry or organic agriculture, especially in LDCs, as they contribute to both climate change mitigation and poverty alleviation by enabling local communities to diversify their sources of income.

Furthermore, Members consider it regrettable that the ‘sustainability criteria’ listed in Directive 2009/28/EC (the Renewable Energy Directive) and the Directive 2009/30/EC (the Fuel Quality Directive) with regard to biofuels are limited in scope and insufficient to contain the negative effects of the expansion of agro-fuels, in particular through indirect land-use change (ILUC).

The EU needs to upgrade its sustainability and certification criteria with regard to biofuels . Parliament asks the EU and its Member States only to accept agro-fuels that demonstrably reduce greenhouse gas emissions, pose no significant land-use issues, do not threaten people’s food security and do not risk conservation conflicts. The Commission is urged to develop legally binding sustainability criteria for biomass, to incorporate ILUC calculations into the existing sustainability criteria for agro-fuels and to incorporate ILUC and carbon-debt calculations into the sustainability criteria for bioenergy.

Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+): Members note that REDD+ has an important role to play in reducing the mitigation gap by 2020. They call for the Parties to show a strong political commitment towards developing innovative financing solutions for REDD+, and oppose the trading of forest carbon and the inclusion of REDD+ in carbon markets, which would lead to an over-allocation of credits and a further decrease in the price of carbon.

International aviation and maritime transport: Members reiterate their calls for international instruments with global emissions reduction targets to curb the climate impact of international aviation and maritime transport, and they continues to stand behind the inclusion of aviation in the European emissions trading scheme (ETS). They want Member States to use revenues from the auctioning of aviation allowances as contributions to the scaling-up of climate finance in developing countries from 2013.

Transformation toward a sustainable economy and industry: Parliament is concerned about global CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion reaching a record high in 2011. The financial and budgetary crisis affecting the EU should not curb its level of ambition or that of its industries, consumers and Member States in respect of the international climate negotiations in Doha.

Parliament notes that the prices of different energy sources play a major role in determining the behaviour of market actors, and that the inability of the current international policy framework fully to internalise external costs perpetuates unsustainable consumption patterns. Recalling that a global carbon market would be a sound basis for achieving both substantial emission abatements and a level playing field for the industry, it calls on the EU and its partners to find the most effective way of promoting links between the EU ETS and other trading schemes with the aim of achieving a global carbon market and ensuring greater diversity of abatement options, improved market size and liquidity, transparency and, ultimately, more efficient allocation of resources for the energy sector and industry.

Research and technology: Members call for an international commitment to increase research and development (R&D) investment in breakthrough technologies in the relevant sectors. The EU must lead by example by substantially increasing its expenditure devoted to research on climate‑friendly and energy-efficient industrial and energy technologies, and develop close scientific cooperation in this field with international partners, such as the BRIC countries and the USA. Furthermore, the EU should support efforts to enable LDCs to find partners and financing for investments in renewable energy and green technologies and Parliament calls on the Commission to come forward with ideas for common research programmes on alternative energy sources and for how the EU can encourage cooperation between developed and developing countries within various industrial sectors.

Energy efficiency and resource efficiency: Members consider it regrettable that energy savings potential is not being tackled adequately, either internationally or in the EU. They emphasise that energy savings facilitate job creation, economic savings, energy security, competitiveness and emissions cuts. The EU must pay more attention to energy savings in international negotiations when discussing technology transfer , development plans for developing countries or financial assistance. Parliament emphasises that in order to be credible, the EU and its Member States must meet their own targets. It also stresses the need to address the energy poverty issue in accordance with climate policy objectives. Members find it regrettable that the UNFCCC and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) are not sufficiently coordinated, and urge the EU and its Member States, accordingly, to link their climate change objectives closely to biodiversity protection objectives at the forthcoming COP 11 in Hyderabad.

European Parliament delegation: Parliament finds it unacceptable that Members of the European Parliament have been unable to attend the EU coordination meetings at previous Conferences of the Parties, and expects at least the Chair of the Parliament delegation to be allowed to attend the EU coordination meetings in Doha.

The Council adopted conclusions on climate change . It endorsed a report on the finance provided for " fast-start measures " to help developing countries combat climate change and its effects.

The report, to be presented to a United Nations climate change conference in Doha, shows that the EU and its Member States have already all but met their EUR 7.2 billion commitment to fast-start financing for the 2010-12 period for the fast-start finance (FSF) (with 40.5% of the total to fund mitigation action, 30.1% to support adaptation, 13.0% to support action to reduce deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries and 16.4% for a range of other miscellaneous activities supported). Disbursement will continue beyond 2012 in line with project cycles committed between 2010 and 2012.

The Council insists that the EU continues to finance the combat of climate change over the 2013-2020 period from a wide variety of sources, public finance and private sector finance , bilateral and multilateral, including alternative sources of finance , as needed to reach the international long term committed goal of mobilizing jointly US$100 billion per year by 2020 in the context of meaningful mitigation actions and transparency on implementation with a view to reducing global greenhouse gas emissions so as to keep the increase in global average temperature below 2 °C compared to preindustrial levels.

The EU, in providing finance for adaptation, will continue to take into account the needs of the particularly vulnerable developing countries , including the Small Islands Developing States, the Least Developed Countries and Africa.

The Council reiterates that the market-based instruments including in the area of global aviation and maritime transportation would generate the necessary price signal to efficiently achieve more emission reductions from these sectors and could generate large financial flows including for climate finance. In this context, it reiterates its call for tangible progress within ICAO and IMO towards global and effective carbon pricing schemes.

The Council also recalls that efficiency and effectiveness are paramount to the mitigation and REDD+ ( Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) actions funded reaching their objective of limiting the emission of greenhouse gases. Climate finance needs to deliver on mitigation and adaptation taking into account the respective capabilities of developing countries.

Lastly, the Council welcomes the initial work of the Board and the Interim Secretariat of the Green Climate Fund (GCF). It encourages the Board of the GCF to ensure the expeditious operationalization of the GCF as a cost-effective and efficient fund that will strive to maximise the impact of its funding. It also stresses that the issue of the EU participation to the GCF Board should be resolved swiftly.

The Council adopted conclusions in preparation for the 18th session of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the 8th session of the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol, which will take place in Doha (Qatar ), from 26 November to 7 December 2012.

These conclusions set out the main elements of the EU position and assess progress made regarding the so-called "Durban package" which includes 3 negotiating strands:

the Durban Platform track, agreed at the Durban Conference last year, which should result by 2015 in a global post-2020 agreement; the Kyoto Protocol track that should result in the adoption of a second commitment period; and the (UNFCC) Convention track which should resolve the outstanding issues.

The main elements of the EU position relate to the need to maintain the balance of the Durban package by advancing all its elements at the Doha Conference:

making significant progress on both work streams of the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action (a process with an agreed timeline to develop a protocol, another legal instrument or an agreed outcome with legal force under the Convention applicable to all Parties and another process to increase the level of global mitigation ambition in the period up to 2020); finalising the outstanding issues in order to adopt a second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol; closing the Convention track with meaningful outcomes on inter alia a new market-based mechanism and accounting.

making significant progress on both work streams of the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action (a process with an agreed timeline to develop a protocol, another legal instrument or an agreed outcome with legal force under the Convention applicable to all Parties and another process to increase the level of global mitigation ambition in the period up to 2020); finalising the outstanding issues in order to adopt a second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol; closing the Convention track with meaningful outcomes on inter alia a new market-based mechanism and accounting.

The Durban package: to recap, for many years, the European Union has played an important role in combating climate change and actively participates in international negotiations. Following the Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change (7-18 December 2009), a gradual approach has been taken towards international negotiations on climate change. At the Cancun Conference (29 November-11 December 2010), substantial progress was made on important aspects of the main elements of a future framework, common vision, adaptation, as well as financing, technology transfer and capacity building. The Durban Conference on Climate Change (28 November-9 December 2011) went further: the Durban Package includes the following elements:

Durban Platform for Enhanced Action: to develop a new Protocol, another legal instrument or agreed outcome with legal force that will be applicable to all Parties to the UN climate convention. The decision states that this process shall raise levels of ambition in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The new instrument is to be adopted by 2015 and be implemented from 2020. In the Durban Package it is formally decided that a second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol will run from 1 January 2013, thus avoiding a gap at the end of the first commitment period finishing in 2012. New rules on forestry management approved as part of the package will improve the Protocol's environmental integrity. Parties' quantified targets for reducing emissions, as well as rules governing the carry over of surplus emission rights from the first commitment period, will be decided at the end of next year.

Green Climate Fund and other new bodies: the Durban outcome makes operational the new Green Climate Fund (GCF) by finalising its design and governance arrangements. The GCF is expected to be one of the major distribution channels for the US$ 100 billion in assistance which developed countries have pledged to mobilise for developing nations annually by 2020 in the context of meaningful mitigation efforts. The arrangements needed to make operational the new Technology Mechanism and Adaptation Committee were also agreed.

The Durban Package brings into operation new arrangements for making more transparent the actions taken by both developed and developing countries to address their emissions. This is a key measure for building trust between Parties.

New mechanisms and sectors: a new market-based mechanism was established to enhance the cost-effectiveness of actions to reduce emissions. A process was also launched to consider climate issues related to agriculture, with a view to taking a decision at the end of 2012.

Council Conclusions on the Durban Package: the Council’s position may be summarised as follows:

Implementation of the Convention: the Council welcomes the overall progress made in Durban in the areas of adaptation, mitigation, technology, financing and capacity-building, thereby enabling further implementation of the Cancún Agreements. It emphasises the importance of clarifying pledges of both developed and developing countries in order to assess collective progress towards achieving the objective of keeping global temperature increase below 2°C. It welcomes the establishment of a new market-based mechanism , which aims to enhance the cost-effectiveness of, and to promote, mitigation actions, ensuring a net decrease and/or avoidance of global greenhouse gas emissions. It looks forward to the elaboration and adoption at the Doha Conference of the modalities and procedures of the new market-based mechanism so as to make it operational as soon as possible; Cancún Agreements: the Council emphasises the central importance of transparent implementation of commitments made in the context of the Kyoto Protocol through Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) as decided in the Cancún Agreements, in particular. The Council underlines the need for a multilaterally agreed common, rigorous, robust and transparent accounting and MRV pre-2020 framework with comprehensive rules to ensure environmental integrity, enable tracking progress against Parties' commitments and ensure comparability of effort as well as for effective carbon trading, linking of carbon markets and any use of offsets or credits against Parties' commitments, including rules for countries participating in the new market-based mechanism or in the framework for various approaches. The Council underlines the importance of adopting common accounting rules applicable to all Parties for the period beyond 2020 ; REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation - including the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks): the Council welcomes the Durban decisions on REDD+, in particular on safeguards, forest reference levels and forest reference emission levels. It considers it essential to make further progress in Doha in developing technical guidance, including on the identification of activities linked to drivers of deforestation and forest degradation, the modalities for national forest monitoring systems and for MRV of REDD+. In this context, the Council calls on developing countries planning to undertake REDD+ activities to provide information on the development of their forest reference levels and/or forest reference emission levels and on how the safeguards are addressed with a view to the Doha Conference.

The Council is committed to the continued implementation of the Cancún Adaptation Framework, identifying actions to enhance coherence of adaptation activities under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It fully supports the 18th Conference of the Parties (COP 18) which it expects to take all the necessary initiatives in the run-up to the Doha Conference. Lastly, it emphasises its willingness to further strengthen the dialogue and to work closely with all Parties for a strong and effective international regime as well as robust climate action on the ground.