Brussels, 11/03/2015 (Agence Europe) - Twenty days before the deadline of 31 March, the EU can proudly say that it is the first bloc of countries to submit to the UN its offer on the future, legally binding, global climate agreement hoped for in Paris in December 2015, and is looking for the other major economies to do as much (see EUROPE 11269).
NGOs active in climate protection acknowledge the EU offer - a collective reduction of at least 40% in the EU's greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 - but wonder about its real substance, believing that it is not sufficiently ambitious to be able to keep the average rise of the Earth's surface temperatures to below 2 degrees Celsius.
The EU's Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) relates to the six greenhouse gases (methane, N2O, HFC, PFC, SF6 and NF3) and covers all areas of economic activity, including agriculture, waste, land-use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF).
“We have adopted the INDC for the various states, which sets out the level of ambition of the EU. We are setting a good example and hope that the others will follow us”, stated Miguel Arias Canete after the Environment Council on 6 March. “This year will require intense climate diplomacy efforts to build the alliances needed for an ambitious agreement in Paris”, added Kaspars Gerhards, president in office of the Council (our translations).
Nothing to write home about, say NGOs. While Friends of the Earth Europe (FoEE) welcomes the fact that the European Union is the first major economy to put its cards on the table, it nonetheless feels the EU offer to be well below its fair share in the action required to avoid dangerous climate change. A reduction of at least 40% was announced last year and so does not represent any increase in effort before the Paris talks (COP 21), FoEE points out. Furthermore, the offer does not contain any pledge of financial or technological assistance for the developing countries which are, however, the most vulnerable to climate change.
“We have to tell the truth, there is a huge gap between what climate science and equity tell us Europe needs to do and the agreement of the (environment) ministers today. It is frustrating to hear our governments describe their climate pledges as ambitious when they are failing to move us away from fossil fuels fast enough”, said Susann Scherbarth of FoEE.
The Carbon Market Watch network is critical that the EU's formal offer of contribution is not detailed or transparent enough: it remains vague on how LULUCF will be included in the objective, potentially reducing the European offer by 5% if LULUCF inclusion is used to offset carbon pollution by transport and other sectors; it does not say whether or not the EU will use the surplus of emissions allowances, expected to be between 4 and 6.5 billion excess emission permits after 2020, that could turn the 40% target into 17-26% effective emissions reductions. “The EU has confirmed to meet its at least 40% target domestically without the contribution from international credits. This is a welcome step and indicates that the potential linkage of the Swiss and EU carbon markets will need to be coupled with an increase in the EU's 2030 climate target”, said Femke de Jong, Carbon Watch Network policy officer.
Switzerland is the first government to formally submit its offer (reduction of at least 30% in its emissions by 2030), even before the EU. (Aminata Niang)