BRUSSELS, Dec 22 (Saba) -- European Union (EU) environment ministers in their meeting here Tuesday expressed disappointment over the outcome of the Copenhagen climate summit and suggested that the US and China were to blame for the weak and non-binding Copenhagen accord, according to Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) on Tuesday.

"It was obvious that ministers broadly expressed their disappointment and frustration with the result of Copenhagen that didn't at all match the expectations and the ambitions by the EU," Swedish environment minister Andreas Carlgren, who chaired the meeting as Sweden holds the current EU Presidency, told a press conference this afternoon.

"It was certainly not what the climate had needed and the content of the agreement did not match the 2 degree target," he said
.
"We also discussed the geopolitical picture behind the result and many commented that it was obvious that the United States and China didn't want more than what we achieved in Copenhagen and that is part of what we have regretted here," said Carlgren.

"Expectations and pressure to deliver have been raised on the US after Copenhagen," he added.

Analysts said the role of EU which had claimed to be the leader of the climate negotiations was totally sidelined by the accord between the US and emerging economies like China, India, Brazil and South Africa.
The Swedish minister said the EU will continue to strive for an agreement that is legally binding for all parties to limit global warming below two degrees.

Speaking at the joint press conference, Theresa Ribera, Spanish State Secretary for Environment, said EU environment ministers will look at the whole structure and decision making process of the 27-member European bloc regarding climate change when they meet in Spain mid-January.
She, however, ruled out that a legally binding global agreement to fight climate change will not be reached during the six-month Spanish EU Presidency which begins on 1 January.

Ribera noted that a global climate accord is most likely to be reached at the next UN climate summit in Mexico in December next year.

Saba