Eesti in brief - 2011-11-10

Estonian Environment Minister Keit Pentus said that Estonia wants to reach a legally binding climate agreement in Durban, one that would include all larger economies, including China and India, reports Postimees Online. Pentus said that Estonia is ready to give its contribution and reduce CO2 pollution by 20 percent by 2020. “By now we have reduced greenhouse gases by 50 percent, as compared to 1990, due to changes that have taken place in industry,” said Pentus. “It is important for us that a vacuum does not appear when the Kyoto agreement ends and, thus, we are open to the possibilities of extending the Kyoto protocol. The aim should be a new comprehensive climate framework,” she said.

Seventy-three percent of Estonian inhabitants supported Estonia’s European Union membership and 56 percent the use of the euro in Estonia, according to a poll commissioned by the State Chancellery, reports LETA. The poll, conducted in October by Turu-uuringute, indicated that 23 percent are against Estonia’s membership. Forty-nine percent of the polled said that they are well, or generally well, informed of Estonia’s aims in the EU; 61 percent of those who think they are informed think that Estonia’s activities in the EU are successful. The most important aim for Estonia at the EU level - developing infrastructure that links Estonia with Europe - was mentioned by 52 percent.

French Minister of Culture Frederic Mitterrand presented Estonian composer Arvo Part with the highest decoration in France, the Knight of the National Order of the Legion of Honor, reports National Broadcasting. “This is a very big honor for me and my homeland Estonia,” Part said when receiving the award. The Knight of the National Order of the Legion of Honor was founded in 1802 by Napoleon I Bonaparte. In Estonia it has been awarded, among others, to former President Lennart Meri and current President Toomas Hendrik Ilves.