EP Delegation to COP 21 in Le Bourget Conference Center in Paris. Statements by Matthias GROOTE (S&D, DE), Vice-Chair of the EP Delegation, Françoise GROSSETÊTE (EPP, FR), Vice-Chair of the EP Delegation, and Ian DUNCAN (ECR, UK)

conference

statement

Paris

EP delegation

COP 21 (T)

GROSSETÊTE, Françoise (EPP, FR)

GROOTE, Matthias (S&D, DE)

DUNCAN, Ian (ECR, UK)

EP Delegation to COP 21 : statements by Matthias GROOTE (S&D, DE), Françoise GROSSETÊTE (EPP, FR), Ian DUNCAN (ECR, UK) and Gilles PARGNEAUX (S&D, FR)

Interior, venue COP21, central alley and the EU pavilion, (2 shots)

SOUNDBITE (German), Matthias GROOTE (S&amp;D, DE), Vice-Chair of the EP Delegation , "We want to point at certain things, that we consider to be essential in climate policy, firstly that no sector should be kept out of its scope we the excuse that there aren't any international rules, by that I mean very concretely the international air traffic and maritime transport, that's a very important thing for our delegation, we would like to underline it. So far, this is in the draft, not as clear as we would like it, but it should remain there and we will make sure it will in the next days".

SOUNDBITE (German), Matthias GROOTE (S&amp;D, DE), Vice-Chair of the EP Delegation , "It's a signal for others because, for energy coming from coal for instance, it is often said that Europe is experiencing a renaissance of coal because it serves the purpose of energy security, well the finance industry has decided about this already, and very clearly because funds and pension funds have made clear that they will not invest in energy coming from coal and therefore coal can't be considered as a sustainable model for the future".

SOUNDBITE (German), Matthias GROOTE (S&amp;D, DE), Vice-Chair of the EP Delegation, "At the end of the day, we need comparable figures, we see that we haven't moved all that far even in Europe and it's essential to reach an agreement. Some say 'we need a legally binding agreement', yes, but what does that mean and how can you enforce controls? That must be dealt with in the text in my opinion, so that the Paris Protocol we are hoping for is a robust one".

SOUNDBITE (French), Fran&#231;oise GROSSET&#202;TE (EPP, FR), Vice-Chair of the EP Delegation , It is good that the EU is always a pioneer in this domaine, but it still managed to be listen to and furthermore convince the others and that&rsquo;s what have asked the Commission to do (original in FR) : C'est bien que l'Unions europ&eacute;enne soit toujours pionni&egrave;re en la mati&egrave;re, encore faut-il qu'elle arrive &agrave; se faire entendre et surtout &agrave; convaincre et c'est cela que nous demandons bien s&ucirc;r &agrave; la Commission europ&eacute;enne.

SOUNDBITE (French), Fran&#231;oise GROSSET&#202;TE (EPP, FR), It has to be accepted that there is a revision mechanism every 5 years is important and there need to fixed objectives with short time frames so that each country is obliged in 5 years to bring forward their progress, this is one thing. Secondly, it is about the financing, the financial part has to be brought in by the industrialised countries to help the emerging countries to transform into a de-charbonised economy.

SOUNDBITE (French), Fran&#231;oise GROSSET&#202;TE (EPP, FR), This COP in comparison to the COP in Copenhagen where I had participated already, we have already an important participation of the civil society, that includes the enterprises and the citizens, the cities also got engaged, the European cities step up in this fight against climate change, all this is very important as the Civil society is also a tool of pressure on our governments

SOUNDBITE (French), Gilles PARGNEAUX (S&amp;D, FR), At this occasion we need also say that the COP21 gives the opportunity to change our economical paradigm and to have the European financial institutions that would fully and jointly participate in the setting up climate renewable policies for materials and for energy efficiency, in setting up circular economy, because we see that those economic policies are essential and needed to limit Greenhouse gas emissions. And to ensure that we stop subsidizing fossil fuels and to move forward in this Green growth as we hear it. The COP21 should be also the occasion for Europe to say that we need to renew our partnership with Africa; we are the same continent, there is a verticality and this vertical should allow Africa not only to have access to electrification, which is very important. Secondly we need to develop renewable energies, wind, solar and also hydraulic.

SOUNDBITE (English), Ian DUNCAN (ECR, UK), "Well, I think it's a serious challenge for the delegation and indeed for the European Union. we are playing poker, high stakes poker, and we are playing with our cards faced up. The US and China are playing with cards faced down. And, right now, the challenge will be for the EU just to get into the room. If we are not careful it'll be Copenhagen all over again. We're going to end up with China and the US creating a deal and the EU gazing in wistfully at what is an outcome that may not be satisfaying to we here in Europe. So the Parliament itself must do all it can, both to make sure that the European Union's position is strengthened but also, more importantly, that they are in the room when it matters".