On Friday 22 March, European leaders will give their guidelines on the general direction and political priorities of the future long-term climate strategy that the European Union will need to adopt, in order to be able to present it to the UN by January 2020, as required by the Paris Agreement.
Combining the competitiveness of European industry with a socially just transition for all to climate neutrality, in line with the Paris Agreement, should be the guiding principles that the European Council will set out to form the basis of the preparation of this “ambitious” strategy, according to the draft conclusions under discussion.
But it is unlikely that leaders will mention 2050 as the deadline for achieving a competitive, prosperous and climate-neutral European economy, the vision of which was set out by the Commission in its Communication ' A Clean Planet for All’ (see EUROPE 12148/1).
And with good reason, as some countries would like the EU to commit to climate neutrality as early as 2050 and want the EU to announce it this year, others next year. Another group of countries, led by Poland, refers strictly to the Paris Agreement, which provides that anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions should offset removals in the second half of the century.
"Opinions continue to differ on the magnitude and timeliness of emission reductions. We're trying to find common ground. We are showing maximum ambition at this stage, emphasising the need to take into account the competitiveness and specificities of the Member States", commented a senior European official on Wednesday.
On climate issues, the draft conclusions on the table have not moved since 11 March (see EUROPE 12215/12).
The European Council will reiterate its commitment to the Paris Agreement and recognise the need to intensify global efforts in the light of the latest scientific evidence, in particular the IPCC Special Report on the impacts of an average global warming of 1.5 degrees C.
It will underline the importance for the EU to submit an ambitious long-term strategy by 2020 to achieve climate neutrality, in accordance with the Paris Agreement, and seizing every opportunity afforded by it.
But countries - Spain, Denmark, Sweden, Luxembourg, France, the Netherlands - wishing to raise the EU's 2030 target and announce it at the UN climate summit in September will not be able to convince those - Germany, Poland, Romania, the Czech Republic and Bulgaria - who are against it.
See draft conclusions dated Monday, 18 March: http://bit.ly/2FrcMn9. (Aminata Niang and editorial staff)