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On 26 May the European Commission published a communication on options to move beyond -20% GHG and on carbon leakage, which analyses costs, benefits and options for adopting an EU greenhouse gas reduction target for 2020 of 30% below 1990 levels. Commissioner Hedegaard was however cautious to underline that this is not a proposal for a unilateral EU move to -30% but merely an analysis. Such a move would be conditional to progress towards an international climate agreement, she clarified. France and Germany have publicly expressed their reluctance to a unilateral move by the EU to -30%. The Commission document will be discussed at the informal Environmental Council of 11 June, followed by a debate by heads of governments, scheduled for 17 June.
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There is an increasing scientific consensus that human activities do trigger climate changes.
But what is Europe’s role in the fight against climate change?
The WEC report “European Climate Change Policy Beyond 2012” provides an overview of the EU climate and energy policy package and, more specifically, the further developments of its emissions trading scheme (EU-ETS). Whereas EU policy covering the period to 2020 has well developed milestones and legislation, the future beyond 2020 is rather nebulous. This has severe implications on the investments in the energy sector and on research and development activities.
Executive summary and the Full report are available at: http://www.worldenergy.org/publications/2717.asp
Developing countries may require some €100 billion a year by 2020 to finance measures to mitigate climate change and adapt to its effects and this should be provided by a combination of funds from governments, the private sector and international bodies, said the European Commission in a paper – Stepping up international climate finance: A European blueprint for the Copenhagen deal – published on 10 September. The paper is intended to make a decisive contribution in the run-up to the crucial talks under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in December.
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On 8-10 July, leaders of the world’s eight leading industrialised nations meeting in Italy agreed on the goal of limiting the rise in global temperature to 2º Celsius. However, no agreement has yet been reached with the major developing countries on long-term global emission reductions.
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Related links: G8 Leaders Declaration, Declaration of the Leaders the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate
EURELECTRIC delegates joined representatives from industry, finance, government, EU bodies and academia at a conference – Climate Change: Implementing a Coordinated Response in Central Europe and around the Globe – hosted in Prague on 23-24 April by Czech power company Cez and the International Emission Trading Association. Speakers discussed implementation of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) for the 2013-2020 period, and developments towards an international post-2012 climate regime.
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Just a week before EU government heads meet at their European Summit in Brussels, the European Parliament stressed on 11 March that the EU should take a lead on climate change action by clearly identifying sources of financing ahead of the 15th conference of the parties (COP15) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Copenhagen in December. The Parliament passed a non-legislative resolution drafted by Czech centre-right MEP Miroslav Ouzký, calling inter alia for a comprehensive action plan on the financing and an EU commitment of €30 billion per year by 2020.
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On 10 March it was the turn of EU Finance Ministers to discuss the international financing of climate change, ahead of the negotiations scheduled for December in Copenhagen. Financial support should be granted only if a strong monitoring and verification system is in place, and market-based instruments and the Kyoto Protocol crediting mechanisms should continue to play a major role, said the Ministers.
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Related link: ECOFIN Council Conclusion
EU Environment Ministers meeting in Council in Brussels on 2 March endorsed the bulk of the communication published in January by the European Commission outlining the EU position ahead of the December meeting in Copenhagen of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). However some core issues, such as measures for mitigating climate change, the working of the carbon emissions market and the financing of measures, were not fully addressed.
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The European Commission says that it wants to achieve an OECD-wide carbon market by 2015 and an even broader market by 2020. But are such targets attainable, or even necessary, and is the EC really going to push for carbon caps internationally? Jane Morecroft reports.
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The European Commission published on 28 January a communication – “Towards a Comprehensive Climate Change Agreement in Copenhagen” – outlining the EU position on two core issues at the heart of international climate negotiations: the design of the post-Kyoto commitment period and the actual financing of greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions. The strategy is expected to be endorsed by EU leaders at their March summit meeting, while the European Parliament is expected to vote a resolution on it by May at the latest.
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