Brussels, 13/11/2014 (Agence Europe) - An unprecedented climate agreement was signed on Wednesday 12 November by China and the US. These two countries are responsible for the most greenhouse gas emissions in the world and the agreement between them was welcomed by the EU as a major political breakthrough that the G20 should find encouraging with regard to the UN conference in Lima (COP 20, 1-12 December) that paves the way for the Paris conference (COP 21- December 2015), where a legally binding global climate agreement should be concluded with all the different countries on board and which will replace the Kyoto Protocol.
Under the agreement concluded by Barack Obama and Xi Jinping in Peking, in a backdrop to the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC), the US (which has never ratified the Kyoto Protocol and which is responsible for 16.9% of global greenhouse gas emissions) underlines its commitment to reduce its emissions by 26-28% by 2025 (compared to 2005 levels). Under the terms of the Kyoto Protocol, China is a developing country. It is responsible for 40% of all greenhouse gas emissions in the world and has made a commitment ensuring that a peak in its emissions will be reached around 2030 or even before, if possible, in an effort to reverse this trend. By 2030, its energy mix should consist of a 20% share in clean energies.
Appeal gets heard. The EU believes that it has played a role in achieving this progress by setting an example to the world by reaching an agreement on 24 October last with the European Council on ambitious targets for the 2020-30 period, despite only accounting for 11% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
In a joint statement, the president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker and the outgoing president of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy stated: “We welcome the announcement today by the Presidents of the United States and China on their respective post-2020 actions on climate change. This comes ahead of the G20 Summit in Brisbane, and well in advance of the Conference of the Parties 21 in Paris... This announcement shows that the call by EU Leaders on 24 October to other countries to come forward quickly with their intended greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets is being answered”. They point out that the EU is committed to reducing CO2 emissions by at least 40% compared to 1990 levels, increases of renewable energy and energy efficiency of at least 27% and a boost of the internal European energy market through a boost of interconnection. Juncker and Van Rompuy urged the other negotiating partners, especially the G20 members, “to announce their targets in the first half of 2015 and transparently” so that they can assess whether their goal of keeping global temperature increases below 2°C can be achieved.
A step in right direction. Giovanni La Via (EPP, Italy), the chairman of the European Parliament's environment committee and who will head the EP delegation in Lima said “the good example set by the EU is beginning to bear fruit because the other major actors such as the US and China are now committed to significantly reducing their emissions. This is a positive contribution to the Lima conference, particularly in the perspective of reaching an ambitious and binding agreement next year in Paris”. Although the US-China agreement is, “a step in the right direction because the two countries that create the most greenhouse gas emissions are committed to collectively tackling climate warming”, La Via emphasised that, “the efforts that have been announced are, nevertheless, well below the level of ambition required by the two countries to ensure that their emission levels are in line with the target of maintaining average temperature rises to below 2°C”. The European Parliament has just given its verdict on the efforts being made for the Lima conference (EUROPE 11192) and will reach a position on the Paris conference at the end of November, during the plenary session in Strasbourg (24-27 November).
A “drop in the ocean”. The environmental NGO, Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) acknowledged that the commitments announced by China and the US were a milestone but also pointed out that in reality, the US commitment is, “just a drop in the ocean” because it is not based on science and ignores the question of equity (between industrialised countries, which are more responsible for global warming because they have been the “historic polluters” and developing countries). FoEI also pointed out that the announcement was not binding.
On the other hand, the NGO considers the fact that China had announced its peak emissions would peak in around 15 years, was “ good news” and that it was taking the struggle against climate change more seriously than the US. The NGO points out that international climate negotiations aimed to push forward implementation of commitments made by governments from the whole world in 1992 on stopping climate change resulting from dangerous human activities. On this basis, it is urging China and all countries to urgently make the transition from dirty energy sources to renewable sources.
In an introductory scientific analysis, The Climate Action Tracker, Climate Analytics, Ecofys and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research explained that the commitment made by the two countries most responsible for greenhouse gas emissions was an, “important political signal that is beginning to reduce the gap between the previous respective commitments and the limits on emissions required for respecting the 2°C target”. The analysis confirmed, however, that both China and the US could use 2015 to significantly improve their promises to making progress in this field. (AN)