On Wednesday July 1, Sweden took up the rotating presidency of the EU from the Czech Republic, right in time to attend to the forthcoming G8 in Italy and continue the dialogue over an international climate agreement. The Swedish presidency has put forward a challenging agenda that includes scaling up the reduction commitment of the Union to a 30 percent reduction, that should be used to convince other major players to get involved. Moreover, the new presidency has called for an eco-efficient way out of the financial crisis, pushing for environmental technology, renewable energy, energy efficiency and sustainable urban development and contributing to halt biodiversity. Expectations over the Swedish presidency are high: Sweden was holding the presidency when the Kyoto protocol was agreed and has been a front runner in the climate change scene ever since.

• This news is extracted from the Emission Trading Monitor : a weekly column that summarises the latest news on international climate change agreements, the updates on the carbon market and the energy and technology updates in the realm of climate change. Go to the web page and see all previous issues.
• This week: New EU rotating presidency gears up for climate talks, EC says €12 million funding for CCS and renewables, New Zealand to launch public consultation over climate commitment, Japan about to vote on climate bill MEF meeting to increase G8 odds and the carbon market. Download June 30 – July 3, 2009 issue [pdf – 157 Kb]