Brussels, 27/10/2014 (Agence Europe) - The agreement reached on Friday 24 October by the European Council on the framework for action on Climate/Energy up to 2030, was given a chilly reception by environmentalists, NGOs and the European Parliament (EUROPE 11184).
In the view of the European Environmental Bureau (EEB), the result of the agreement which sees only one binding target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40%, a 27% share for renewable energies as a European target and 27% in energy savings as an indicative target, was “an abysmal agreement”. It also stated that it was a blow to Europeans who hoped and expected their governments to act responsibly on climate change in the world.
Jeremy Wates, the secretary general of the EEB, underlined that more and more extreme weather events such as flooding and wildfires are already hurting people and their communities all across Europe and that “Adopting a set of targets to cut energy waste by 40%, roll out sustainable renewables to 45% of the energy mix and cut emissions by 60% is what the science of climate change demands, and is also what will help Europe get on its feet”. The NGO was obviously disappointed and said it was now counting on President Juncker to make good on his commitment for Europe to become a world leader on renewables as well as to propose a far more ambitious and binding energy savings target for 2030.
Greenpeace has deplored the fact that EU leaders had put on the brakes when it came to choosing a clean economy by agreeing on targets that were far too low and which slowed down efforts for promoting renewable energies and had subsequently locked Europe into a scenario of polluting and costly fossil fuels.
Speaking at the European Parliament, Philippe Lamberts (Belgium), president of the Greens/EFA Group, pointed out that in March 2014 Parliament had given its support to three “serious and binding targets” (- 40% for reducing emissions, 30% for renewable energies and 30% energy efficiency), which would have helped Europe remain at the cutting edge of its response to tackling the climate/energy challenge. He explained that, “by refusing to meet this goal, European leaders have committed a triple mistake: ecologically, economically and strategically. Ecologically, because climate change is happening and we can't negotiate with the planet, as pointed out by the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Unless there is a massive effort in terms of reducing CO2 emissions, the target of maintaining global warming to 2°C will not be attained. Economically, because by slowing down the pace of climate/energy efforts, the European Union is sending out a clear and negative message to all the companies that had invested in energy transition”. He added that the Greens at the European Parliament considered that climate/energy targets had to be both ambitious (- 60% in CO2 emissions, 45% in renewables and 40% in improved energy savings) and binding.
The S&D Group hoped that the targets would be more ambitious and advocated 50% for the reduction in CO2 emissions, 45% for renewables and 40% for energy savings. It announced that it would fight to obtain more in the negotiations. Gianni Pittella, the president of the group, stated, “we were hoping for more but given the tensions before the European Council and the risk of not reaching an agreement, the S&D welcomes the united position that has been reached, whilst awaiting the Paris climate summit next year (COP 21, December 2015). We still have time to agree on more ambitious targets. The European Council compromise is a starting point”.
Although the EPP believes that the targets were too low on renewables and energy efficiency, MEPs in the group are delighted that an agreement could be reached on a binding target of a 40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Peter Liese (EPP, Germany), the spokesman for his group on the environment, emphasised that “this is an ambitious target that will allow for progress to be made in international climate negotiations”. (AN)