Brussels - There is so little time for negotiation before United Nations talks on fighting climate change in Cancun, Mexico in November that the European Union should consider holding talks outside the UN to speed things up, an EU summit next week is to say.
The EU was largely sidelined in UN talks in Copenhagen in December and is keen to reassert its influence on the proceedings by looking for allies in the negotiating process.
The EU 'remains firmly committed to the (UN) process ... Given the short time available before Cancun, this process could usefully be complemented by discussions in other settings and on specific issues,' reads a draft summit statement seen by the German Press Agency dpa.
The EU will 'strengthen its outreach to third countries ... by addressing climate change at all regional and bilateral meetings, including at summit level, as well as other fora such as the (Group of 20) G20,' the draft, for discussion by EU leaders, says.
At the Copenhagen summit, the EU was left out of key talks between the United States, Brazil, China, India and South Africa which led to a weak and much-derided deal.
EU leaders therefore want to find ways to regain their influence over developed and developing countries.
'Opportunities for cooperation, including with industrialized partners, need to be exploited in areas such as green technologies ... Common interests with emerging countries on issues which could create leverage in the climate change debate should be rapidly identified,' the draft says.
As part of its bid to win international agreement, the EU in December agreed to pay part of a 10-billion-dollar annual fund to help poor states to deal with global warming up to 2012, with world funding by 2020 tipped to reach 100 billion dollars a year.
'The swift implementation of this commitment will be crucial,' the draft acknowledges.
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