Brussels, 20/07/2016 (Agence Europe) - All sectors of the economy must contribute to achieving the binding target the EU has signed up to - a minimum 40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 compared with 1990 levels - to set the EU on the path to being a low-carbon economy and to realise the commitments made in the Paris climate agreement.
The legislative package proposed by the Commission on Wednesday 20 July - the famous summer package - contains a proposal for a decision on effort-sharing among the member states in the contribution to the collective effort by those sectors not covered by the emissions trading scheme (ETS). These sectors - transport, buildings, agriculture and waste - together account for almost 60% of total EU greenhouse gas emissions and will be required to achieve a collective reduction of 30% in their emissions by 2030, compared with 2005 (EUROPE 11595, 11589).
The proposal translates the October 2014 European Council guidelines which advocated flexibility, fairness, the sustainability of measures and solidarity among the member states, setting parameters to be taken into account (the criterion of the per capita GDP and the cost-efficiency of the measures) in effort-sharing. “It will provide clarity for investors and business which will know where to invest profitably”, Commission Vice-President with responsibility for Energy Union Maros Sefcovic told the European press.
The proposal is accompanied by a draft regulation on the contribution of agriculture and forestry (the LULUCF sector - land use, land-use change and forestry) that seeks to encourage carbon capture in the soil and in forests (see other article). A low-carbon mobility strategy promoting the development and roll-out of zero emission vehicles in the EU using advanced alternative fuels completes the package (see other article). With this, the Commission is launching one of the largest legislative projects needed to complement the proposal for the reform of the ETS that is already on the table and to implement the Paris Agreement (EUROPE 11535).
National targets of between 0 and 40% reduction. To ensure fair and cost-effective sharing of the collective emissions reduction target assigned to non-ETS sectors, the Commission has prepared a table of national targets proposed for 2021-2030 and new leeway that will be allowed the member states so that they can achieve their targets as cheaply as possible. This table contains three percentages per member state: the 2030 target compared with 2005, the ETS flexibility and LULUCF flexibility (a percentage of the 280 million tonnes of credits that can be used across the EU over ten years) (EUROPE 11589).
The national targets vary between 0 (for Bulgaria) and a 40% reduction (for Luxembourg and Sweden). Between these two extremes, some countries (Lithuania, Poland, Croatia, Hungary, Latvia and Romania) will have a target of under 10%, others will be set a target of reductions of between 30 and 40% (Finland and Denmark: -39%; Germany: -38%; France and United Kingdom: -37%; Netherlands and Austria: -36%; Belgium: -35%; Italy: -33%; Ireland: -30%), and still others between 12 and 26% (Slovakia, Estonia, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Greece, Portugal, Malta, Cyprus and Spain).
Average emissions 2016-2018 as starting point. For each member state, the Commission proposes an annual emissions limit for the ten-year period from 2021 to 2030, set according to a decreasing linear trajectory. The starting point of the linear trajectory, which will begin in 2020, is the new emissions average for the period from 2016 to 2018. This starting point has come in for criticism from some NGOs as it could penalise come member states which are on track to achieve their 2020 target (EUROPE 11595). However, Climate Action and Energy Commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete argues that “this is a balanced and fair proposal. It is difficult to satisfy 28 countries. We could use 2020 as our reference but we would have a surplus of allowances which would destabilise the system. This starting point, based on the most recent information, is the most appropriate date so as not to compromise emission levels”.
ETS flexibility will allow the member states which are eligible (Luxembourg, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, Ireland and Malta) to achieve their national targets by covering some emissions from non-ETS sectors by surplus ETS allowances, capped at 100 million over ten years - allowances which in the normal course of things should have been put up for auction and should have generated income for these member states. This is a one-off flexibility for each member state and should be declared to the Commission.
LULUCF flexibility. By virtue of flexibility in the land use sector, up to 280 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent may be credited to achieve national targets over the whole 2021-2030 period. This flexibility will not, for the moment, apply to forest management “as the method of accounting (of forest emissions and absorption) is not sophisticated enough and not as precise as in the common agricultural policy. However, when the reference level has been updated, the Commission will be able, at a later date, to adopt a delegated act on the forestry contribution”, said commissioner Cañete.
All member states will have access to these credits but the countries which contribute a greater share of greenhouse gas emissions of agricultural origin, such as Ireland, for example, will have access to more. The percentages vary between 0.2% for Luxembourg and 5.6% for Ireland. “The amount of the agricultural emissions is the only criterion for distributing LULUCF credits”, said Cañete. This principle complies with the European Council guidelines of October 2014 which acknowledged that the agricultural sector has a lower mitigation potential.
Five-year conformity check. The member states will be required to report annually on their emissions level, thus allowing the Commission to produce annual progress reports. However, to reduce the administrative burden and to allow for the potential contribution from land use, the more formal compliance check will be organised every five years, rather than annually. The first such review will be in 2027 for the years 2021-2025, followed in 2032 for the years 2026-2030. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)