Esther de Lange (PPE). – (NL) Mr President, let us be honest, ladies and gentlemen, this is a very sparse agreement. Despite its 53 pages, we have very little news to report: we encourage, we emphasise, we underline, we reaffirm. What this basically comes down to is that we are calling on ourselves to finally do what we actually agreed to do years ago.

Two years after the first major UN conference in Stockholm in 1972, a Dutch poet wrote: ‘All things of value are defenceless’. And now, almost 40 years down the line, we have to conclude that sustainability, environment and social rights are still not being given enough attention in our global economic system. Obviously, some steps have been taken, as the Commissioner has said, for example, in the area of marine environment. However, what will really make a difference now is the readiness to translate vague words into concrete actions. Ladies and gentlemen, some of you will not want to hear this, but the business world also has a role to play here, for example, in developing and drawing up ambitious sustainability criteria.

Commissioner, the European Union should take the lead in translating these rather vague words into concrete actions. But, it should do it in such a way that we can spur the rest of the world into action. We have to do this internationally because, for example, our debate on whether we in Europe should move from 20% to 30% CO2 emissions, now that difference equals 1.7 days’ emissions in China. So, let us deploy our efforts internationally! I wish the European Commission every success in that respect, as I do indeed to us, too.

Since I have about a minute left, may I remind Mr Helmer, who has, of course, already left, that the UK Government has had to adapt its plan that protects London against floods with the Thames barrier. I come from a country that saw a big flood in 1953 in which thousands of people died. I wish for the United Kingdom that the same does not happen to them.

Sea water levels are rising and my country and Mr Helmer’s country have to protect themselves against the North Sea, but I am afraid that Mr Helmer’s party will only recognise climate change by the time that more than one million people in the London area have wet feet.