Brussels, 21/06/2016 (Agence Europe) - European Energy and Climate Commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete told the members of the European Parliament's agriculture committee on Tuesday 21 June that “before the summer break”, the Commission would present a legislative proposal on national greenhouse gas reduction targets for sectors, including agriculture, not belonging to the emissions quotas trading scheme and a proposal on how to take account of land-use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF sector).
The Commission will bring forward its proposals against a backdrop of the ratification procedure of the Paris Agreement on tackling climate change that was adopted in December 2015 (see EUROPE 11560 and 11576).
Cañete told the committee that a 30% reduction in emissions will be required in sectors outside the emissions trading scheme (ETS), including agricultural non-CO2 emissions (such as methane and nitrous oxide). He added: “We have to take into account the multiple objectives of agriculture and the need to ensure adequate production of food”.
The commissioner announced that his proposal would keep the LULUCF sector as a separate pillar. Thus, there would be no direct compensation of agricultural emissions by reforestation, for example. Cañete also raised the possibility of allowing the LULUCF sector, up to a certain limit, to sell carbon credits on to other non-ETS sectors, such as agriculture, transport, construction, etc. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)