“Substantial differences exist between the situation around the 1997 EU burden sharing discussions and the current discussions on international climate change agreements for 2020. Here we discuss the main differences that are relevant for the identification of lessons learned. In support of its role of driving the EU climate change agenda as the EU Presidency in 1997, the Dutch government engaged the authors of this paper to support the negotiations process on the EU negotiation position for COP3 in Kyoto.
In consultation with the Dutch negotiating delegation, the so-called Triptych approach to burden sharing was developed. The aim of the approach was to determine the ‘reasonable’ contribution of each Member State to a joint EU target for emission reductions, taking into account the main differences in national circumstances between the different member states.”
