COUNCIL RESOLUTION of 21 June 1989 on the greenhouse effect and the Community (89/C 183/03)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community,

Having regard to the draft resolution submitted by the Commission,

Whereas the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community provides for the development and implementation of action by the Community on the environment;

Whereas the available scientific data, in particular results from Community environmental research programmes, show that the composition of the atmosphere is being significantly modified by human activities and according to the available climatic models this could bring about, by the so-called "greenhouse effect", climatic modifications having a serious impact on the environment, on human beings and their activities;

Whereas it is therefore urgent to examine possibilities for action aiming at preventing or reducing the risks involved in the greenhouse effect;

Whereas the European Council held at Rhodes in December 1988 underlined the need for an effective international response to global problems such as the greenhouse effect;

Whereas in the framework of recent international conferences, in particular those held in Toronto in June 1988, in London and The Hague in March 1989 and in Nairobi in May 1989, a very broad consensus has been reached on the need for urgent consideration of measures to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases;

Whereas, given the complexity of the greenhouse effect and the many and far-reaching implications both of the greenhouse effect and of possible measures to prevent or to mitigate its consequences, a careful prior examination of policy options is required;

Whereas it is important that the Community and its Member States should make an effective contribution to the drawing-up of policy decisions within the approprite international fora, 1. UNDERLINES the global dimension of the greenhouse effect and the need for the Community and the Member States to play their full part in the definition and implementation of a global response to the problem. Such a response should be made without further delay, irrespective of remaining uncertainties on some scientific aspects of the greenhouse effect;

2. CONSIDERS that the conclusion of an international agreement on climate change is necessary ; WELCOMES the preparatory work presently underway in the framework of the United Nations Environment Programme and the World Meteorological Organization;

CONFIRMS that the Community and the Member States must make an important contribution to the preparation of such an agreement;

3. CONFIRMS that, in accordance with the conclusions of the Council of 2 March 1989, the Community will participate actively in the revision by 1990 of the Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer with the aim of eliminating production and consumption of CFCs regulated by that Protocol by the end of the century ; furthermore, DECLARES that present levels of consumption and production of these CFCs, both within the Community and world-wide, should be reduced by at least 85 % as soon as possible ; NOTES that action must also be taken regarding other substances which are relevant to the greenhouse effect including CFCs which are not covered by the Montreal Protocol;

4. DECLARES that afforestation and measures to improve vegetation cover within the Community should be intensified and that the Community should play its full part in international efforts to arrest the destruction of the tropical rain forests and the process of desertification;

5. INVITES the Commission to reconsider, as soon as possible, existing Community policies and orientations which may no longer be appropriate in the light of the need to combat the greenhouse effect ; DECLARES that the Community and its Member States should take proper account in future policy decisions of the problem of potential climatic change linked to the greenhouse effect ; INVITES the Commission and Member States to take urgent action to increase energy savings ; to improve energy efficiency ; to promote the development and use of energy sources, such as non-fossile fuels, which will not contribute to the greenhouse effect ; and to give high priority to the development and introduction in the Member States of innovative commercially viable technologies in these fields. In this context due account must be taken of safety aspects, security of supply, environmental impact, public health and economic considerations;

6. INVITES the Commission urgently to consider action within the framework of Community aid programmes for developing countries aiming at reconciling their development requirements with constraints stemming from the greenhouse effect, and helping them, when needed, to adapt to the potentially unavoidable impact of the greenhouse effect;

7. STRESSES the importance and urgency of intensifying national and Community research efforts and studies so as better to understand the greenhouse effect and assess its potential environmental and socioeconomic impact;

8. WELCOMES the initiative of the Commission to launch a substantial policy-options study programme ; CONSIDERS that the main areas of such a programme should be: - identification and technical assessment of measures and technologies which can help reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, in particular CO2, or other measures, including afforestation and prevention of forest fires, which can otherwise combat the greenhouse effect,

- analysis of environmental, economic, industrial, energy, social, agricultural and institutional implications of possible measures and technologies,

- evaluation of likely benefits of different policy options by use of a decision analysis framework,

- identifying measures, such as further coastal protection, necessary to adapt to new situations which the decision analysis exercise demonstrates are likely to arise as an unavoidable result of the greenhouse effect and drawing up, where necessary, Community policies to implement such measures;

9. INVITES the Commission, in executing the work programme, to take full account of other relevant activities on related subjects both inside the Community and world-wide, particularly the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ; URGES Member States to cooperate actively with the Commission in the execution of the programme and to coordinate their relevant activities within that framework;

10. INVITES the Commission and the Member States to ensure that public opinion is fully informed about the greenhouse effect, and the action necessary to combat it, in particular the need for effort on a world-wide scale and involving the contribution of every citizen;

11. INVITES the Commission to submit a report by the end of 1990 at the latest, including proposals for concrete in the areas referred to above, in particular for measures relating to the problem of CO2, with a view to making an effective contribution to the wider international debate.