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Environmental Law Network International 1/2003
Central and Eastern European Countries and Climate Change Regime
Climate change is a relatively recent issue and its
importance, when considering national environmental
policies, is fast increasing. The problem
affects all the Accession Countries to the European
Union 1, which are committed to both the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC) adopted in 1992 and the Kyoto Protocol
agreed in 1997 and which are developing their national
policies on climate change. The Kyoto Protocol
will probably enter into force by 2003 and the
accession to the EU is scheduled for 2004.
This article aims to give a general overlook of some
legal and political issues concerning the participation
of these countries to the international climate
regime. Capacity building issues are also taken in
consideration, as well as national and international
initiatives carried on in order to fulfil the Central
and Eastern European Countries’ commitments to
the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol.
Central and Eastern European Countries
within the UN Framework Convention on Climate
Change and the Kyoto Protocol
The Central and Eastern European Countries
(CEEC) 2 are fully integrated in the shaping of an
international action to combat climate change. Despite
several political and economic changes these
countries have faced from the beginning of the
nineties, a general awareness concerning global
warming among the policy makers and public opinion
has considerably raised in the recent past. These
states are now legally and politically committed to
the international treaties on climate change and they
are called to play a dominant role especially after
their accession to the European Union. All Candidate
Countries have ratified the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change 3 and are
Leonardo Massai, Researcher, EEP Network, Environmental Law Research
Centre, J.W.G. University, Frankfurt am Main, currently Ph.D.
candidate at the same University
1 The current Accession Countries to the EU are Bulgaria, Cyprus, the
Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania,
Slovakia and Slovenia.
2 The CEEC are among those classified under the UNFCCC as Economies
in Transition (EITs) to a market economy. Ten of these countries are negotiating
to join the EU: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia,
Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia. In the context of
this article, Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) and Economies
in Transition (EITs) refers exclusively to these ten countries, unless
otherwise specified. Malta and Cyprus, also in the process to join the EU,
are not considered in this paper.
3 The Czech Republic and Slovakia have deposited the approval of the
convention and not the ratification instrument.
Leonardo Massai
Annex I Parties 4. Annex I countries are the ones
which have committed themselves to reduce greenhouse
gas emissions by the year 2000 to 1990 levels
as prescribed by article 4.2 of the Kyoto Protocol.
They are the OECD countries exc luding Mexico,
together with the designated Economies in Transition
Countries and Turkey.
The Accession Countries to the EU have now also
accepted the Kyoto Protocol and they are indicated
as Annex B parties 5. Parties with quantified emission
limitation or reduction commitment, so-called
individual emission targets, are listed in Annex B of
the Kyoto Protocol. These are countries included in
Annex I to the UNFCCC having assumed legally
binding commitments for the period 2008 to 2012
as indicated in article 3.1 of the Kyoto Protocol.
In both Annex I and Annex B, Accession Countries
are indicated as “Economies in Transition” (EITs),
in other words, states that are in the process of making
the transition to a market economy 6. The acknowledgement
of this status is quite important as
these countries are sometimes considered in a different
manner compared to the other Parties and this
is showed for instance by the “certain degree of
flexibility” 7 in the implementation of their commitments
granted to this group of countries from both
the Kyoto Protocol and the UNFCCC. CEEC are
members of the Annex I Expert Group 8 which is
supporting these countries’ efforts in order to address
and develop climate change policies. Furthermore,
the group meetings reflect the EITs concerns
and aim to increase the exchange of information
at a governmental level.
4 The Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia were added to the Annex I list
by an amendment that entered into force on 13 August 1998, following
decision 4/CP.3 adopted at COP 3. Malta and Cyprus have ratified the
UNFCCC but they are not Annex I Parties.
5 Cyprus accepted the Kyoto Protocol only on the 16.07.99. Malta signed
the Protocol on the 17.04.98 and ratified it on the 11.11.01. They are both
not listed in Annex B.
6 Within the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol, EITs are the ten Candidate
Countries to the EU without Malta and Cyprus with the addition of Croatia,
Belarus, Russian Federation and Ukraine. In the context of this article,
EITs refers only to ten EU accession countries, without Malta and Cyprus,
unless otherwise specified.
7 See Article 4.6 of the UNFCCC and article 3.6 of the Kyoto Protocol.
Article 3.6 of the Kyoto Protocol stresses once more the possibility for the
Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the
Protocol itself, to allow a certain degree of flexibility to the Parties with
economies in transition when implementing their commitments.
8 The Annex I Expert Group is an ad hoc group of government officials from
Environment, Energy and Foreign Affairs ministries from countries that are
listed in Annex I to the UNFCCC, and those that have acceded to Annex I
commitments. It is supported by the OECD and the IEA secretariats.
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