The Ministers discussed cooperation between Estonia and Lithuania in establishing the register of permitted carbon dioxide emissions of Member States of the European Union (EU). It is the requirement of the EU that in order to start selling emission quota, all Member States must have uniformly approved registers that would ensure the transparency of such trade. Mr Reiljan explained why cooperating with Lithuania in creating this register was important: “Establishing the emission register is very expensive, and therefore it would make sense for Baltic States to join our forces – for example, in the technical part”. The Baltic States have chosen a specific type of technical solution developed by the British Ministry of the Environment. Thus, it has been decided to join a consortium already joined by 10 countries. The Ministers also dealt with issues related to Russia and the Kyoto Protocol. Both the Estonian and Lithuanian Ministers of the Environment were pleased that the Russian Government has approved the Protocol. Ratification of the Protocol will soon be decided by the Duma. In the light of the 10th anniversary of the Convention on Climate Change to be celebrated in December, the Ministers considered it to be an especially remarkable event. “Although the EU has taken positive steps to respond to climate change, it is crucial, considering the global effect of climate change, that global warming which is seen as the greatest environmental threat is also dealt with outside the European Union. This will be possible when the Kyoto Protocol enters into force after ratification by Russia," said Mr Reiljan. Russia’s increasing oil transit in the Baltic Sea through the Kaliningrad District was also discussed at the meeting. The Lithuanian Minister admitted that due to the transit Estonia was facing a greater threat of marine pollution and said that the exchange of information with Russia could be more efficient. Since Russia is not a Party to the Espoo Convention, Russia is not required to carry out environmental impact assessment in a transboundary context as provided in this Convention. Estonia’s concerns are similar. Our contacts with Russia are mainly related to the work of the Estonian-Russian Joint Commission on Transboundary Waters. To conclude, the Ministers were hoping that the cooperation of Estonia and Lithuania in the field of the environment would continue. Mr Reiljan was in Lithuania from 4 to 6 October in connection with the state visit of President Arnold Rüütel. Further information: Monika Kopti Press Representative, Ministry of the Environment Phone (+372) 626 2993; (+372) 521 2602 E-mail: |
