Voorbereiding Raad Milieu, 3 maart 2008 (en)

The first Environment Council under the Slovenian presidency will take place in Brussels on 3 March 2008. Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas will represent the European Commission. The Council will hold policy debates on the Climate Action and Renewable Energy (CARE) package presented by the Commission in January and the proposed Regulation to reduce CO2 emissions from new cars. It is also expected to adopt a set of conclusions as input to the Spring European Council on 13-14 March, as well as separate conclusions setting out the European Union's position for meetings of the UN Biodiversity Convention and the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety in May. The links between the CARE package and the negotiations on a global climate agreement to succeed the Kyoto Protocol will be the subject of discussions over lunch with the participation of the Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, Yvo de Boer.

Contribution to the Spring European Council

Ministers are due to adopt Council conclusions as input to the Spring European Council on 13-14 March. The conclusions focus on five priorities: climate change and energy, halting biodiversity loss, environmental technologies, sustainable consumption and production, and better regulation. The conclusions respond to, among other things, the Commission's Climate Action and Renewable Energy package (see next item) and the Commission's strategic report on the renewed Lisbon strategy for growth and jobs.

On climate and energy, the draft conclusions set out key principles to guide the translation of the European Council's decisions into policy measures by the Council; on biodiversity they stress the need to achieve greater synergies between climate change and biodiversity policies and for full implementation of the Natura 2000 network of protected sites; on environmental technologies, they emphasise the need to design environmental legislation to support eco-innovation; on sustainable consumption and production, they set out the Council's expectations for the Action Plans on sustainable consumption and production and on sustainable industrial policy to be presented by the Commission later this year; on better regulation, they call on the Commission and Member States to share best practice on implementation and enforcement of legislation.

Climate Action and Renewable Energy (CARE) package

The Council will hold a public debate on the major package of climate change and renewable energy proposals presented by the Commission on 23 January to implement the commitments made by the March 2007 European Council (see IP/08/80 , MEMO/08/34 , MEMO/08/35 , MEMO/08/36 , MEMO/08/33 ). The package proposes a 21% reduction by 2020 in emissions from sectors covered by the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS); national emission targets for emissions not covered by the EU ETS; national renewable energy targets; sustainability criteria for biofuels; and a legislative framework to promote the safe use of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies.

The debate will be guided by four questions. These focus on the package's level of ambition, the design of the proposals for ETS and non-ETS sectors, whether the CCS proposals are sufficient to achieve its deployment, and the effectiveness of the sustainability criteria for biofuels. The first and last of these questions were also addressed by the 28 February Energy Council.

CO2 emissions from cars

Ministers will hold a policy debate on the Commission's proposal for a regulation to reduce CO2 emissions from new cars (see IP/07/1965 ). The proposal seeks to cut average CO2 emissions from new passenger cars sold in the EU from the current level of around 160 grams per kilometre to 130g/km kilometre in 2012 through improvements in engine technology. Complementary measures such as efficiency improvements in components and greater use of biofuels will contribute a further emissions saving of 10 grams, taking average emissions from new cars sold in 2012 to 120g/km. The proposed legislation is the cornerstone of the EU's strategy to improve the fuel economy of cars, which account for about 12% of the European Union's carbon emissions.

The debate will be guided by two questions tabled by the Presidency focusing on a) whether ministers agree that the proposal respects the criteria put forward by the Council in its conclusions on the matter last June and b) what could be done to improve further the balance between the different elements of the proposal in order to meet its environmental goals.

UN Convention on Biological Diversity

Conclusions are expected on the EU's negotiating position at the 9th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP9), which Germany will host from 19-30 May 2008 in Bonn. The conclusions will underline the intrinsic value of biodiversity and its importance for life on earth and for supporting ecosystem services, and stress the EU's commitment to strong political responses to support the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) adopted in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. The Council will also reiterate the commitment to halt the loss of biodiversity in Europe by 2010. The major issue to be discussed concerns the financing of the implementation of the Convention, and the work on protected areas.

Cartagena Protocol

The Council is also expected to adopt conclusions for the Fourth Meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (MOP4) to be held in Bonn from 12 to 16 May 2008. The Protocol, which was adopted in 2003, seeks to protect biological diversity from the risks posed by living organisms modified through modern biotechnology. The conclusions will call in particular for a decision on international rules and procedures in the field of liability and redress for damage resulting from transboundary movements of living modified organisms, and for the Meeting of the Parties to take the steps needed to arrive at and implement an effective international framework for biosafety.

Any other business

Any other business points include the following:

'Euro VI' limits on polluting emissions from trucks and buses (see IP/07/1989 ). The Presidency will make a progress report on Council discussions of the Commission's proposal.

Noise from AWACS military aircraft. This issue has been raised by the Netherlands.

Emissions from shipping in the context of next month's meeting of the Marine Environment Protection Committee of the International Maritime Organisation. The Netherlands has also raised this question.

Ukraine's decision regarding the Danube-Black Sea deep navigation channel. This issue has been raised by Romania, which considers Ukraine's plans a serious threat to the Danube delta.

Management of GMOs in the EU. France intends to raise this question.