Environment Council (14 October)

Wednesday 13th October 2010 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mrs Caroline Spelman)]

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change and I will represent the UK at the Environment Council in Luxembourg on 14 October.

The Council will hold an exchange of views on the proposal for a regulation modifying the directive concerning the possibility for member states to restrict or prohibit the cultivation of GMOs on their territory. The Belgian presidency will seek the adoption of Council conclusions on; the 10th meeting of the Conference of Parties to the convention on biological diversity; and on the preparation of the 16th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN convention on climate change and the sixth session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto protocol. The presidency will also seek the adoption of procedural Council conclusions on an analysis of possible options to go beyond the objective of a 20% reduction in greenhouse gases and evaluation of the risk of carbon leakage.

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

Presentation by the Commission concerning state aids to the coal industry;

Presentation by the Commission on the results of the technical committee work on a draft regulation concerning the “end of waste criteria”;

Presentation by the Commission on Stakeholder Consultation on:

Report and possible proposal of a methodology to apply to emissions from carbon stock changes caused by indirect land use changes;

Communication on a road map for a low-carbon economy by 2050, also with a view to determining the necessary scenarios for 2030;

Communication on mainstreaming climate adaptation and mitigation in EU policies and climate-proofing of EU financial instruments;

Information from the Commission on progress towards achieving the Kyoto objectives concerning a mechanism for monitoring Community greenhouse gas emissions for implementing the Kyoto protocol;

Information from the Commission on Aviation and Climate Change—Developments at the ICAO Assembly;

Information from the Commission on the implementation of the Commission decision on the use of 300 million allowances from the new entrants’ reserve of the emissions trading scheme for the demonstration of carbon capture and storage and innovative renewable energy technologies;

Information from the Czech delegation on the sixth session of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the protection of European bats; and

Information from the presidency on the main environmental events organised by the Belgian presidency;

Presentation from the Swedish delegation on a review of the Community strategy on mercury—possible future action;

Presentation from the Finnish delegation on International environmental governance: preparation of the second meeting of the advisory group of Ministers;

Presentation from the Dutch delegation concerning a seminar on the financial perspectives and the environmental aspects of the EU budget.