Brussels, 21/10/2015 (Agence Europe) - The European Environment Agency (EEA) Trends and projections in EUROPE 2015 report has been unanimously welcomed and reveals that the EU has already achieved its emission reduction target and by 2020 will have probably reduced greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by 23%. Nonetheless, there have been certain quarters that have highlighted the fact that this trend requires a high level of European ambition rather than self-satisfaction or the temptation to do less after 2020 (see EUROPE 11413).
In response to the EEA report, the CAN Europe (Climate Action Network Europe) group has stated that there is a real risk that the current reductions will be transferred from before to after 2020 and thus will end up being additional emission permits for the period 2021 to 2030. This would result in increasing the amount of emissions under the EU's pledge for the Paris climate agreement.
Wendel Trio, director of Climate Action Network Europe, said: “We welcome the fact that the EU is overachieving its emission reduction target for 2020 already now. We encourage the EU to keep this pace of reducing emissions in the run up to 2020, as climate science clearly shows that global emissions need to be drastically cut in the next 5 to 10 years. If the EU wants to be a true leader in the Paris climate negotiations, it cannot use these additional reductions before 2020 as an excuse to lower its efforts after 2020”.
According to Trio, a true European leadership in the run up to the Paris climate summit requires the EU to cancel all unused emissions permits in 2020 under the proposed reform of the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). He explained that “This way the EU will both contribute to closing the pre-2020 and post-2020 gaps between pledged emission reduction and what is needed to keep the warming well below 2 degrees”.
Jo Leinen MEP (S&D Germany), a specialist in climate questions, considers that in light of the EEA report, the EU must revise its 2020 and 2030 targets upwards. He stated that “the EU's 2020 target has already been achieved. In 2020, greenhouse gas emissions will be 24% less than they were at the 1990 level. With six weeks to go until the Paris conference, the EU must revise its target upwards”. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)