Brussels, 22/10/2015 (Agence Europe) - Just over a month before COP 21 (30 November-11 December), the first ministerial debate on the proposal on the post-2020 reform of the emissions trading scheme (ETS), a key EU instrument against climate change, will be the highpoint of the meeting of the Council of environment ministers in Luxembourg on Monday 26 October.
The other items on the agenda of the meeting, to be chaired by Luxembourg Environment Minister Carole Dieschbourg, are implementation of the global sustainable development goals and the environment dimension of the European semester.
The meeting will be dominated by non-legislative debates to which the public will not therefore be admitted. The environment ministers will hold a joint discussion with their counterparts in development, who are taking part in the Foreign Affairs and Development Council in Luxembourg on the same day.
Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Commissioner Karmenu Vella and Climate Action and Energy Commissioner Miguel Arias Canete will represent the European Commission.
Reform of the ETS for the 2021-2030 period. The Council will hold its first policy debate on the long-term revision of the ETS proposed by the Commission in July 2015 to provide a lasting solution to the shortcomings in this market instrument which led to the collapse in the ton of carbon price and a huge surplus of quotas on the market, preventing the ETS from playing its role of encouraging investment in clean technologies and renewable energy (see EUROPE 11364 and 11360).
The Council working group has begun its deliberations. This preliminary debate seeks to provide direction for the continuation of work. Guided by a Luxembourg Presidency questionnaire, ministers will say whether: - the proposed reforms, in combination with the market stability reserve adopted last year, do enough to strengthen the ETS to enable the EU to achieve its 2030 climate goals; - the proposed free allocation rules strike the right balance between addressing the risk of carbon leakage (danger of relocation) to safeguard the competitiveness of energy-intensive industry, and strengthening the incentive to innovate in the transition to a low-carbon economy; - the proposed low-carbon funding mechanisms for industrial innovation and energy sector modernisation provide a sufficient stimulus for the public and private investment needed to achieve the 2030 climate target.
Greening of the European semester. Ministers will have an exchange of views on how to ensure that the environmental dimension continues to play a full role in the European semester process which seeks to enhance coordination of economic and budgetary policies. Discussion will focus on phasing out environmentally-harmful subsidies and implementation of environmental policies and legislation.
Sustainable development. Over lunch, environment ministers will have an exchange of views with their development colleagues on how to put into practice the 2030 global programme “Transforming our world” to eradicate poverty and promote sustainable development, adopted by the United Nations in September.
Ministers will also be briefed by the Presidency on progress in international climate negotiations in the run-up to COP 21 (see EUROPE 11413); the state of play in the Volkswagen scandal, a serious impediment to the improvement of air quality in the EU (see EUROPE 11411); the “Make it Work” initiative which seeks to bring together the member states, the Commission and the European Parliament to improve European environmental legislation and exchange best practices on national implementation. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)