Environment Council (21 June 2011)

Caroline Spelman Excerpts

Thursday 16th June 2011 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 21 June.

At this Council, Ministers will take note of progress reports relating to the proposal for a directive on control of major accident hazards involving dangerous substances (“Seveso III”) and to the proposal for a regulation regarding the possibility for member states to restrict or prohibit the cultivation of GMOs in their territory.

The presidency will also seek the adoption of Council conclusions on the protection of water resources and integrated sustainable water management in the European Union and beyond, a road map for moving to a competitive low-carbon economy in 2050 and the EU biodiversity strategy to 2020.

The lunch discussion will be on climate change and the status of international negotiations.

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

Information from the Commission on aviation/emissions trading scheme implementation;

Information from the Commission on the Conference on the Implementation of the EU Environmental Law (Brussels, 15 June 2011);

Information from the Commission on CSD 19 conclusions and possible way forward to Rio+20;

Information from Romanian delegation on the meeting of Environmental Ministers from the Black Sea Economic Co-operation countries (Bucharest, 31 May 2011) ;

Information from the Dutch delegation on the risks associated with nanomaterials;

Information from the French delegation on the management of cormorants;

Information from the Lithuanian delegation on nuclear installations planned in the EU neighbourhood (Kaliningrad region and Belarus);

Information from the Austrian delegation on new challenges in the light of the Fukushima accident—reflections of countries without nuclear power (Vienna, 25 May 2011);

Information from the Swedish delegation on global, regional and bilateral action on short-lived climate forcers;

Information from the Danish delegation on the use of industrial gas credits under the effort sharing decision;

Information from the presidency and Commission on the outcome of the first meeting of the Open-Ended Ad Hoc Intergovernmental Committee for the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization (Montreal, 5- 10 June 2011);

Information from the Slovak delegation on the third meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Framework Convention on the Protection and Sustainable Development of the Carpathians (Bratislava, May 25-27, 2011) ; and

Presentation by the Polish delegation on the work programme of the incoming presidency.