Press release 14 June 2007
Ministry of the Environment

The informal climate dialogue paves the way for a new climate regime

The informal meeting on climate change in Riksgränsen, Sweden, attended by environment ministers and high representatives from 28 countries was concluded on Thursday 14 June.

Swedish Minister of the Environment Andreas Carlgren summarized the discussions in the Chairman's summary. He concluded that the discussions enabled the Ministers to have a clear picture of the positions of different countries in view of the important forthcoming UN-conference at Bali, Indonesia in December.

- We made important progress in the preparations for Bali, establishing a platform for negotiations, containing elements related to the process and the contents of a future regime. There was a broad consensus that the Bali conference should establish a Road Map with a timetable and concrete steps for the negotiations with a view to reach an agreement by 2009, says Mr Carlgren

- We came further in our discussions and achieved much more than I imagined that we would.

The purpose of the meeting in Riksgränsen was to allow Ministers to have informal and in depth discussions on international cooperative action on climate change. The discussions focused both on long term issues regarding principles and elements on a future climate change regime and concrete questions related to the preparations for the important meeting in Indonesia.

The minister discussed how the elements of a future international regime can be brought together. The ministers discussed a package that in particular would include:

• Adaptation measures, to be adopted by all countries, but in particular for poor and vulnerable developing countries;
• More ambitious and legally-binding emission reduction targets for all developed countries;
• Enhanced mitigation actions by developing countries;
• Further action on the deforestation issue;
• Managing unintended consequences of adaptation and mitigation policies;
• Technology development, diffusion and commercialization, in order to support mitigation, adaptation, and more generally, decarbonisation of our economies.
• Investment, incentives, financing, capacity-building, awareness and education.

The ministers especially emphasized that the issue of deforestation should be subject of urgent attention. Quantitative commitments by the industrialized countries would continue to be an essential element of the new regime. Developing countries would not be expected to take on such binding quantitative reduction commitments now, but there should be incentives for them to take measurable, reportable, and verifiable measures of different kinds, such as intensity goals or sectoral benchmarks. Ministers also recognized the vast potential of new and existing low-carbon technologies. Technology cooperation, mobilization of financial resources as well as development and strengthening of carbon markets are of primary importance in a future regime.

The Chairman's summary further underlined that the world needs an effective, fair and comprehensive multilateral regime based on concerted international efforts. Serious consideration should be given to yardsticks and goals to stabilize atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases and prevent dangerous interference with the climate system, including the goal of at least halving global emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050.
Recently published reports, such as the Stern Review and the IPCC reports, have convincingly shown that it is possible to achieve the necessary emission reductions without compromising the prospects for economic and social development. All participants underlined the urgency of action. We all share the same fundamental goal: the climate system has to be protected for the benefit of present and future generations.

- We considered that it would be possible to agree on the main elements of a climate regime for the period after 2012. Bali would thus provide an excellent opportunity to advance the important climate negotiations in converting the present exploratory dialogue into a negotiation framework, says Mr Carlgren.

Ministers said that there is an urgent need for open and innovative political discussions on the future international cooperation on climate change. Argentina has offered to host the next informal meeting in 2008.

The meeting in Riksgränsen was the third of its kind. The first meeting was held in Greenland in 2005 and the second in South Africa in 2006.