ABSTRACT
Few major developments took place during the year that elapsed between the Bonn and The Hague COPs. In response, the European Climate Change Programme (ECCP) was launched in June 2000. Its primary goal was to identify the costs and benefits of different emission reduction measures in inter alia the energy, transport and industry sectors, by the summer of 2001. The Hague COP marked the first instance in which a discrete negotiation round under the UNFCCC failed to result in an agreement. It witnessed some rather very undiplomatic exchanges between the ministers of the Member States. The collapse of COP-6 in The Hague came as a huge shock to the EU, especially given the slim prospects of the new Bush administration engaging constructively in future negotiations. Swift progress was greatly facilitated by the fact that the EU, desperate not to fail, had arrived in Bonn prepared to make as many compromises as would be required to secure an agreement.
