Michael de Laine

By Michael de Laine, The Copenhagen Voice, 6 April 2009

As EU President in the second half of 2009, Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt will lead the EU in close cooperation with the US in order to push the international negotiations to a successful conclusion in Copenhagen. He also sees a need to intensify the bilateral EU-US dialogue.

The climate issue calls for a strong global leadership, Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said at the EU-US summit in Prague yesterday.

As the President of the European Union (UN) in the second half of 2009, Reinfeldt said, “I…will be personally dedicated to leading the EU in close cooperation with you, President Obama, and the US, in order to push the international negotiations to a successful conclusion in Copenhagen.”

In his speech to the summit delegates, Reinfeldt added, “I believe we need to intensify our bilateral EU-US dialogue. We should look at key issues, such as financing and what actions and measures to expect from emerging economies. The dialogue should proceed quickly and we would ask for a report at the next EU-US summit.”

Noting that climate change and energy security are high on the agenda in both the European Union and the United States, Reinfeldt said coming generations will measure us by what we do now to shape their tomorrow.

“We therefore warmly welcome the new US administration’s approach to climate change and its recognition of science as a basis for policy decisions,” the Swedish Prime Minister said. “We share the view that the financial crisis should be used as an opportunity to restructure the economy and start down the path to low-carbon growth.”

Reinfeldt said the EU and the US should work together to reach an agreement at the UN climate summit, COP15, in Copenhagen in December.

“Copenhagen is of critical importance as the first step in catalysing the global shift to a low-carbon economy that limits global warming to below 2˚ C,” Reinfeldt said. “An agreement must this time encompass the vast majority of global emissions.”

The EU has committed itself to a 30% reduction by 2020, if other industrialised countries commit to comparable efforts, and the US ambition is to cut emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.

“We also note that Congressional efforts may go even further, reducing emissions by 6% according to a recently introduced bill,” the Swedish Prime Minister said. “We encourage such efforts. Its sends an extremely important signal, both to emerging economies and to other industrialised countries, including the European Union.”

He added that the efforts are not just about targets, but also how to achieve them. “Pricing mechanisms, such as cap and trade, are the basic driving forces for energy saving, efficiency measures and the development of clean technology,” he said. “As leaders we must act in such a way that we get a relevant price on carbon emissions.”