Belgium still without climate accord
The environment ministers met for almost 5 hours on Sunday, but failed to reach an accord.
The mandate the ministers have been given by their respective governments appears to have made it all but impossible to reach an agreement. This is why the ministers are now asking their respective governments for the mandate to be broadened.
The bones of contention between the regions are
• How much cash Belgium should pay into the climate fund
• How will emission rights be shared between the regions?
• How much each region should contribute to the effort to increase the percentage of our energy that is produced from renewable sources.
Differing interpretations
The news that no accord had been reached came despite a tweet by the Walloon Environment Minister Paul Furlan (Francophone socialist) that there was an accord and that it was only up to the government to say yes or no.
The Brussels regional Environment Minister Céline Fremault (Francophone Christian democrat) was more cautious. She spoke of “new proposals for a compromise”.
However, this is contradicted by the Federal Minister responsible for the environment Marie-Christine Marghem (Francophone liberal) and the Flemish Environment Minister Joke Schauvliege.
Ms Marghem and Ms Schauvliege both said that it had become apparent that it was not possible to reach an agreement within the frame work of the mandate the four ministers had been given.
Talks on Monday will be the last chance saloon for an intra-Belgian climate accord.
Previously, a draft agreement was rejected by the Flemish Government as it believed that it was disadvantageous for Flanders.