Criticising the EU's lack of climate change policy consistency in a debate with Council and Commission ahead of November's COP 19 conference in Warsaw, Portuguese MEP João Ferreira said Europe had a particular responsibility in terms of the deadlock in international negotiations on the climate change issue.

“Market instruments are not in a position to deal with this problem and reduce the threat to the climate. For some, climate change is a mere pretext for doing business rather than an issue of genuine concern for the future of the planet on which we live,” he said.

“Let's recall the millions announced in 2009 for combating climate change, what has happened to all that money?” he asked.

“The IPCC's new report provides further evidence that climate change is the result of human activity,” Swedish MEP Mikael Gustafsson said. “As the majority of the world's poor are women, they will suffer the most from climate change. Drought and devastated harvests, with the resulting loss of income, reduces women's power in society as they tend to do the agricultural work in developing countries. This has a horrendous impact in places where women's power is already low.”

“Climate change does not happen overnight, it's a long process, but it affects millions of people already today. In Warsaw, the EU must therefore acknowledge that we have a historical debt to the global South and that adaptation is a necessary measure,” he concluded.

German MEP Sabine Wils will represent the GUE/NGL group at the Warsaw COP 19 (November 11-22). Parliament's resolution ahead of November's Warsaw conference will be voted tomorrow.