Environment Council

Thursday 10th June 2010 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (Chris Huhne)]

Lord Henley, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and I will represent the UK at the Environment Council in Luxembourg on 11 June.

The Council will consider progress reports on the proposal for a regulation on the placing on the market and use of biocidal products; the proposal for a directive on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment (RoHS) (recast); the proposal for a directive on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) (recast); and the proposal for a regulation concerning the setting emission performance standards for new light commercial vehicles as part of the Community’s integrated approach to reduce CO₂ emissions from light-duty vehicles.

The Commission will present to Council its communication on the options to move beyond 20% greenhouse gas emission reductions and assessing the risk of carbon leakage. This will be followed by a policy debate and the adoption of some procedural Council conclusions.

The Council will also seek the adoption of Council conclusions on water scarcity, drought and adaptation to climate change, on preparing forests for climate change, and the fifth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP/MOP 5) serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (Nagoya, Japan, 11 to 15 October 2010). There will also be an exchange of views and adoption of Council conclusions, on the first session of the Preparatory Committee for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (“Rio+20”) (New York, 17-19 May 2010).

The following topics will be covered under “any other business”:

Information from the presidency and the Commission on the challenges for a good environmental status of the marine environment;

Information from the presidency on the 18th session of the UN Commission on sustainable development (CSD 18) (New York, 3-14 May 2010);

Information from the Greek delegation on the signing of a memorandum of understanding in the field of forestry between the Government of the Hellenic Republic and the Government of the Republic of Turkey, and of a joint declaration between the Minister for Environment, Energy and Climate Change of the Hellenic Republic and the Minister for Environment and Forestry of the Republic of Turkey;

A request from the French delegation on genetically modified organisms;

Presentation from the Commission on future steps in bio-waste management in the European Union (9955/10 ENV 308 AGRI 178 ENER 158);

Information from the Belgian delegation on the work programme of the incoming presidency; and

A request from the UK on the 62nd meeting of the International Whaling Commission, Agadir, Morocco, 21-25 June.