In spite of the fact that the COP-15 UN Climate Change Conference will already take place in December, chances to conclude a new climate change agreement in Copenhagen remain low. In order to limit the effects of the climate change it is necessary to negotiate during the COP-15 in December a new ambitious climate change agreement which would set up concrete targets for greenhouse gas emissions after 2012. In the face of diverging interests between the industrialised, developing and emerging economies, it has not yet been possible to reach an agreement on key areas of negotiation, such as financing conditions of climate policies (climate change mitigations and adaptation) after 2012. Simultaneously, the group of industrialised countries has so far been unable to agree to a satisfactory burden-sharing.
The European Union belongs to the main group of movers in the international climate negotiations, and has been considered a leading force in the process of setting ambitious targets in the area of climate policy. However, current EU targets for reducing CO2 emissions are being increasingly criticised as insufficient, while many experts evaluate the EU climate-energy package, adopted in December 2008, simply as a step backwards. The EU’s position for COP 15, agreed during the last EU summit in Brussels (29-30.09.2009), does not mention a concrete figure regarding Europe's financial contribution dedicated to climate change in the developing countries. As a result of pressure of the coalition of 9 member states (led by Poland) it was only possible to set up general rules on how the EU’s contribution should be divided up among the EU member states: In the course of this process the EU should take into account the ability to bear costs by the less prosperous member states.
In this context, the Warsaw Office of the Heinrich Böll Foundation will be hosting a debate with numerous high-level speakers in order to assess the degree of preparedness and the role of the European Union and Poland in international negotiations: What are the current EU objectives for the climate summit in Copenhagen? What do the other key actors expect from the EU in the process of climate negotiations, and what are the expectations of the EU towards other major players, such as the USA, China or India? Is it still possible for the EU – despite the internal tensions – to play a leading role in this process? What is the role of Poland in the process of agreeing on a common position? What are the greatest challenges towards the conclusion of an ambitious climate change agreement and how can they be overcome?

Keynote Speech:
• Janusz Reiter, Polish Ambassador for Climate

Speakers:
• Bärbel Höhn, Deputy Chairperson of the Parliamentary Group Bündnis 90/Die Grünen in the German Bundestag
• Dr Nicola Notaro, Team Leader, Climate strategy, international negotiation and monitoring of EU action Unit, DG Environment, European Commission
• Prof. Maciej Sadowski, Director's Plenipotentiary for International Cooperation, Institute of Environmental Protection
• Marta Śmigrowska, Chief of the Climate Change Programme, Polish Green Network

Chairman: Edwin Bendyk, Journalist, „Polityka”

The invitation  and report from the debate as a pdf-file.