Environment ministers meeting in Luxembourg today (11 June) called for the next environmental action plan from the European Commission to focus on the ‘green economy’.

The discussions exposed continuing disagreements about the  low-carbon roadmap that the Commission proposed last year.

The Commission is expected to propose the seventh environmental action plan (EAP) in the autumn.

The initial draft position on the 7EAP, an overarching strategy for all EU environment policy, said the ministers should “take into account the low-carbon roadmap”.

But that was too contentious, because Council conclusions on the low carbon  roadmap were blocked in March by Poland, which objected to interim emission reduction targets being set between 2020 and 2050. Following the Polish objections, the language on the EAP was changed to take into account a Council position from March calling for a future low-carbon 2050 strategy.

Belgian’s representative at the meeting Evelyne Huytebroeck, who is the environment minister of the Brussels region, complained that this would refer only to a future strategy. “But the low-carbon roadmap is something that we already have,” she said. French environment minister Nicole Bricq agreed, but the compromise was eventually backed by all ministers.
The environment ministers say that the 7EAP should focus on better implementation of existing legislation, the development of a green economy and new initiatives for issues not well-addressed by current legislation.
The ministers also adopted conclusions on two upcoming international meetings on biodiversity and biosafety to be held in Hyderabad, India, in October 2012. Over lunch, ministers discussed how to advance the issue of climate finance between 2013 and 2020.

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Ministers also held a debate on the accounting rules proposed by the Commission in March on how to account for greenhouse gas emissions and removals resulting from activities related to land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF).