ASEM, Asia-Europe Meeting, is an informal process of dialogue and cooperation bringing together the 25 EU Member States and the European Commission with 13 Asian countries (ASEAN-countries, China, Japan and South-Korea). The ASEM summit in September 2006 in Helsinki identified “sustainable development with a special focus on Millennium Development Goals, climate change, environment and energy” as a key area for its work over the next decade. The summit also agreed on a declaration specifically dealing with climate change.

Commissioner Dimas said that the next decade will be crucial to meet the global, regional and national challenges that climate change poses: “There is a real window of opportunity for action on climate change, but it is closing. Within 10-15 years, emissions of greenhouse gases will have to peak and then start falling. The longer we wait to take action, the higher the costs. We need a common understanding on where we want to go – and by when.”

Furthermore, Dimas stressed that the main responsibility lies with developed countries: “Having caused much of the current accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and with access to the technological and financial capacity to reduce their emissions, developed countries should, as a group, reduce their emissions by 30% below 1990 levels by 2020. This should be followed by cuts in the range of 60 to 80% compared to 1990 levels by 2050.”

More information:

Information on the 3rd ASEM Environment Ministers’ Meeting

Speech of Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas

Declaration of the 3rd ASEM Environment Ministers’ Meeting in pdf