http://geoengineeringpolitics.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/insights-into-european-commission-views.html?m=1

Geoengineering Politics

Saturday, July 6, 2013

Insights Into European Commission Views on Geoengineering

Comments made at the recent "International Governance of Climate
Engineering" forum held in Brussels in June shed interesting light on
official thinking about geoengineering within the European Commission.  One
of the featured speakers at the event was Jacob Werksman,  who serves as
Principal Advisor to the Commission's Directorate-General (DG) for Climate
Action.  Werksman noted that the Commission itself has no explicit position
on geoengineering, and cited two important reasons why.  First, the
Commission does not want to undermine or destabilize ongoing negotiations
within the UNFCCC by injecting such a charged issue into climate talks.
 Second, the Commission is keen to emphasize non-climate benefits of
mitigation actions such as improvements in public health and economic
competitiveness, and does not want to jeopardize this message with
potentially controversial statements or policies on geoengineering.Werksman
also offered his opinion on the preferred institutional setting for
international deliberations on climate engineering.  In his view, the CBD
has become excessively politicized due to the actions of certain NGOs and
developing country members, and in the process has alienated key
governments such as the US.  The UNFCCC, rather than the CBD, should
coordinate discussions on geoengineering since it has a nearly global
membership and a history of constructive institutional flexibility.  The
extent to which Werksman's preference is shared by other staff at DG
Climate Action is unknown.

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