Brussels, 09/10/2014 (Agence Europe) - The European Council on 23-24 October is expected to make a final decision on the Energy/Climate package for 2020-2030. The Committee of the Regions (CoR) is alarmed by the lack of ambition in the targets on the table. The mayors and presidents of European regions met up on Wednesday 8 October in Brussels for a plenary session and by a large majority, adopted the report by Annabelle Jaeger, demanding that the EU adopt a “winning trio” in targets that were both more ambitious and binding, as a means to successfully undertake the EU's energy transition and efficiently fight against climate change.
The CoR wants Europe to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% compared to 1990 levels (as opposed to 40% proposed by the Commission) a 40% share of renewable energies based on national targets (as opposed to the target proposed of at least 27% as a single European target) and a 40% cut in primary energy consumption compared to 2005 levels, by way of energy savings and also based on national targets (as opposed to the proposed 30% energy efficiency target).
The rapporteur explained, “These three goals are needed to give us a chance of avoiding a catastrophic temperature rise of more than 2°C and to achieve the EU's long-term objective of an 80-95% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. This is the strong political signal that the local and regional authorities are expecting from Europe. On the strength of these stated objectives, the EU should be ready to negotiate a global climate agreement with a view to the World Climate Conference in 2015”.
In the long term, the CoR would also like the EU to demonstrate greater ambition by pursuing the goal of producing close to zero net emissions by the middle of the century.
The report underlines the fundamental role of cities and regions in drafting and implementing policies on climate change, developing renewables and energy efficiency. Jaeger added that, “More than 70% of reduction measures and up to 90% of climate change adaptation measures are undertaken by local authorities. Because of their proximity to people, local and regional authorities can help raise awareness on the economic and social benefits of the energy transition measures, hence the importance of involving them in the process”.
CoR's members also recommend that the 2030 climate-energy package be underpinned to a greater extent by EU initiatives at local level, such as the Covenant of Mayors - through which more than 5,600 European regions and cities have committed themselves, on a voluntary basis, to reducing their CO2 emissions by more than 20% by 2020 - and recommends that this initiative be extended until 2030. (AN)