13 June 2008, Brussels – European civil society groups from across Europe gathered in Brussels over two days from 12-13 June 2008 to participate in the European Parliament’s second AGORA.  UNPO was in attendance to witness a variety of debates covering a formidable range of climate change concerns.

The AGORA represents a new initiative on behalf of the European Parliament intended to revitalise the relationship between elected legislators in Brussels and their constituents throughout Europe, with the aim being to give legislators a direct link to the concerns of civil society groups throughout the continent.

Taking its name from the public debating spaces of Classical Athens, the contemporary AGORA brought together five hundred delegates to discuss the role of resources, techniques, solidarity, economies, and governance in combating climate change within the European Union and elsewhere.  Working in a series of five workshops, delegates assessed draft statements prepared prior to the AGORA’s start and over the course of the two days debated, amended, and approved final texts which in the coming days will be presented to senior policy makers in the institutions of the European Union as an expression of continental civil society opinion.

The occasion also provided UNPO with an opportunity to discuss the current state of representation for indigenous people with Victoria Tauli Corpuz, President of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and to elaborate with delegates from international non-governmental organizations on UNPO’s role and ambitions for the coming months in the wake of the IX UNPO General Assembly. 

Opening the AGORA were addresses by José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, Hans-Gert Pöttering, President of the European Parliament, and Gérard Onesta, Vice-president of the European Parliament, all of which lent some indication of the importance being given to the AGORA with the presence of such senior figures.  Spirited speeches from key individuals such as Jacqueline McGlade, Executive Director of the European Environment Agency, and Jeremy Rifkin, President of an international foundation for economic perspective supported the need for action and proved an important spur for the workshop discussions which were to follow in the afternoon. 

Of the five workshops, UNPO ensured that it maintained a presence within those dealing with the issues of governance and solidarity in addressing and mitigating climate change.  These proved to be workshops of most pertinence for UNPO’s Members, and the discussions which took place revealed significant consensus in both the need for action, and the form which that action must take.  Many of the points raised in discussion crossed between workshops and emphasised the need for a unified and concerted approach to climate change, something which was noted in the closing proceedings of the AGORA.

Despite having over six hours devoted to the finalisation of the workshop texts, both delegates and drafters found time catching up with them as the deadline for final texts approached.  But the spirit of compromise prevailed, as it had done so over the course of the entire AGORA, and when the final texts were presented for approval by the assembled delegates in the Hemicycle chamber of the European Parliament the ratifying applause was resounding. 

The final text adopted by the AGORA on the issue of solidarity stressed the need for the European Institutions to adopt a binding emissions target of 30%, an increase of 10% over existing targets, as “a matter of global solidarity”, and to achieve this target by 2020.  Prominent among the other proposals was the need to ensure that appropriate technologies were made available to the developing world as part of a concerted response to climate change and as an important step to ensuring the United Nations Millennium Development Goals wre met.  This global approach to the issue of climate change was a reflection of the concerns expressed by delegates that initial workshop texts had laid too much emphasis on addressing purely European concerns. 

Although the close of the AGORA coincided with the decision of Irish voters to reject the Lisbon Treaty, the AGORA press conference proved both well attended and heated.  Time constraints prevented a truly insightful discussion of the AGORA, but the restated commitment of Günter Verheugen, Vice-president of the European Commission, to an emissions reduction target of 20% by 2020 demonstrated the continued breadth of opinion that exists on issues of climate change.  The next few months will show to what degree the European Commission is willing to acknowledge and act upon the opinions expressed by the AGORA and presented by the European Parliament.

Thus it still remains to be seen whether the AGORA will become a permanent feature of the European Union’s consultation process.  It is also too early to see if the positions stated will be adopted as policy, especially as the coming months will be preoccupied by looming elections to the European Parliament.  However, the AGORA has proved itself to be a valuable tool in bringing together civil society and debating contemporary issues of import.   How it is managed in the coming years will be crucial if it is to succeed, but Europe’s civil society is certainly a willing partner and eager to provide its input to improve the formulation and implementation of European Union policy. 

Note:

<!--[if !supportLists]--><!--[endif]-->To visit the AGORA website, please click here.

<!--[if !supportLists]-->For direct access to the final texts of the AGORA workshops, please click here

<!--[if !supportLists]-->

<!--[if !supportLists]-->

To access and download the UNPO Position Paper on Climate Change Governance, please click here. (PDF format, 115kb)