Brussels, 16/01/2014 (Agence Europe) - Eagerly awaited by climate activists and supporters of a successful transition to a green, low-carbon economy, the climate/energy package to be presented by the European Commission on 22 January this year to establish the framework for an integrated climate/energy policy up to 2030 is already causing disappointment given the leaked text being prepared.
According to the draft text, the Commission is preparing to propose, as a binding target, a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of 35% or 40% compared to 1990 but at this stage it is reportedly not proposing an energy efficiency objective, pending review of the current legislation planned for later this year before doing so. The European objective for the share of renewable energies would be non-binding - possibly 24% or 27% depending on whether the Commission chooses the greenhouse gas emission reduction target of 35% (which is favoured by Energy Commissioner Gunter Oettinger) or 40%, which is advocated by Connie Hedegaard, European Commissioner for Climate Action.
As soon as the Green Paper was presented, launching the debate in March 2013, Oettinger had already hinted that one should not count too rapidly on a binding objective for energy efficiency (EUROPE 10816).
Rebecca Harms of Germany, Vice-President of the Greens/EFA Group at the European Parliament, said that the Commission is obviously preparing not to present a binding objective for the share of renewable energies by 2030 and this is a further sign that European climate policy is falling back. She said too many backward-looking people are against a responsible energy policy turned towards the future. The authorities in Brussels, she went on, are already compromising the success of the Paris climate conference in 2015, and the EU's role as a pioneer is now over. It is true that one is now far from the level of ambition of the European Parliament which has recently stated its stance in favour of three binding objectives: - a 40% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions compared to 1990;- 40% energy efficiency; - and at least a 30% share of renewable energies in the total energy mix of the EU, in the hope that this contribution will be taken into account by the Commission (see EUROPE 10993).
Even a reduction of 40% in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 would not allow the EU to assume its fair share of the reduction effort required globally, or make up for the surplus quotas that undermine the working of the emissions trading system (ETS) since, in a draft impact study, the Commission considers that, if the scenario remains unchanged, CO2 emissions in the EU will have already fallen by 32% by 2030, Greenpeace states. For now, the EU is already on the way to doing better than the commitment taken under the climate/energy package of 2008 to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 20% by 2020. Its offer to increase that reduction to 30% if the other partners to negotiations are willing to make comparable commitments is still on the table. (AN/transl.jl)