Brussels, 31/10/2014 (Agence Europe) - EU heads of state and/or government, meeting in Brussels in the night of Thursday 23 to Friday 24 October, agreed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030 without apportioning which state was to do what. Another commitment made - one that is binding on the EU but not on the member states - is to increase the share of renewable energy in the total mix to 27%, without any sub-target for the transport sector.
The European Council, then, paid attention to the calls from agriculture ministers who argued that the specificities of this sector should be taken into account (see EUROPE 11184). The areas that do not form part of the European CO2 emissions quota trading scheme (non-ETS), including agriculture and also transport, will have to reduce their emissions by 30%. However, the agreement states that “the multiple objectives of the agriculture and land use sector, with their lower mitigation potential, should be acknowledged”. In its impact study, the European Commission estimated that agriculture (which is responsible for a little under 10% of overall EU greenhouse gas emissions and almost one fifth of non-ETS emissions) could reduce its emissions by 28% by 2030. Without providing figures, the European Council invited the Commission to “examine the best means of encouraging the sustainable intensification of food production, while optimising the sector's contribution to greenhouse gas mitigation and sequestration, including through afforestation”. Policy on how to include Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry into the 2030 greenhouse gas mitigation framework will be established “as soon as technical conditions allow and in any case before 2020”, state the Council conclusions.
No target for biofuels. No fall-back sub-target was set for renewable energy in the transport sector (current legislation provides for 10% renewables to be reached by 2020, principally thanks to biofuels. The European Council's final document, however, states that the Commission is invited to “further examine instruments and measures for a comprehensive and technology neutral approach for the promotion of emissions reduction and energy efficiency in transport”. (LC)