NGOs, experts and governments meet in Lima, in Peru, from 1 to 12 December to discuss the climate agreement for reducing global emissions after 2020. A Parliament delegation will attend from 8 to 12 December. We talked to Giovanni La Via, environment committee chair and head of the delegation, about the challenges facing his team in Lima.  

What are the main challenges for the EU during the negotiations in Lima?

We are discussing three main parameters: the reduction of gas emissions, the use of renewable energies and also the total reduction of consumption of energy. We have voted in Parliament on a mandate for the negotiations. Our resolution shows the main points we are focusing on.

What are the goals of the EP delegation in Lima?  

We now have to finalise our work for having clear targets on the three parameters mentioned before. It is clear that the European institutions and the European countries are ready to achieve better results. But we need a strong effort from many large players, such as the United States, India, China and Brazil. It is clear that that we are going to have very extreme climate conditions, also in Europe. We need to work together with all countries if we want to control climate change.

How will the EP delegation contribute to reach an agreement? 

It is important that the European Parliament delegation meets many national parliamentary delegations to garner support for the effort being made by the European Commission and the Council for achieving the final agreement. The three institutions will work together to help achieve a better result during the negotiations.