A lot of ink will have already been spilled on the European Green Deal expected on 11 December, but the ink of the von der Leyen Commission’s officials will have to be dried to determine its level of ambition. The draft communication on the Green Deal, which was leaked to the press on Thursday 28 November – the day on which the European Parliament declared the climate and environmental emergency – was a disappointment for NGOs.
Many are likely to be left waiting, unless the new Commission strengthens what is, for the time being, a catalogue of measures with a timetable whose dates are often in brackets, or even missing, when they are not too late in view of the requirements of the Paris Climate Agreement and the opinion of the NGOs, on the eve of the opening of COP25.
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Council Charles Michel, and President of the European Parliament David Sassoli will attend the opening ceremony on 2 December. A delegation from Parliament led by Bas Eickhout (Greens/EFA) will be in Madrid from 9 to 14 December.
For the EU’s climate neutrality by 2050, the legislative proposal is expected by March 2020; but the draft mentions October 2020 as the target date, with the vagueness allowed in the language used (“by October”) for raising the EU’s 2030 target to at least 50% reduction in emissions and “towards 55%”.
The Commission plans to examine all relevant legislation with a view to their possible revision to reflect this new ambition.
The Paris Agreement requires all parties to update their NDC by 2020.
CAN Europe doubts that the EU can play a leading role if it does not adopt a significantly more ambitious 2030 target (65%) in the first half of 2020, which implies a proposal within 100 days.
“The Commission’s reluctance to propose a new, much higher target early next year shows its failure to recognise the urgency of the climate crisis. Delaying this decision can put the EU in the back seat of global climate negotiations and undermine its role in shaping the discussions on the increase of the targets next year”, said Wendel Trio, the director of the NGO, on Friday.
According to Greenpeace, this project is not up to the challenge of the climate and environmental crisis. “This is a vast policy programme that marks a shift away from the Juncker commission’s deregulation agenda. But you just have to look beyond the top lines to see that the proposed measures are either too weak, half-baked or missing altogether”, said Franziska Achterberg.
The draft document provides for an industrial strategy and a new action plan for the circular economy by March 2020.
For ‘zero emission’ mobility, it provides for a strategy for sustainable and intelligent mobility perhaps by 2020 (date in brackets). The inclusion of maritime transport in the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) and the reduction of the number of free allocations to airlines are mentioned. But nowhere is there any mention of a possible tax on kerosene.
The inclusion of road transport in the ETS is being considered – an option that raises questions among those who fear, such as MEP Bas Eickhout, that it will be less effective than the very strict emission standards adopted for passenger cars, new vans and heavy goods vehicles.
The Commission is considering a new set of emission standards for combustion engines as the last step before zero emission vehicles.
In the area of finance and investment for a just transition, the Commission announces an action plan on green finance in June 2020 and support for the EIB’s efforts as a climate bank.
In the area of building renovation, a new initiative is announced, as is the revision of the Construction Products Regulation.
To restore ecosystems and biodiversity, the text provides for a revision of the adaptation strategy (to climate change) at an as yet unknown date and concrete measures to address the drivers of biodiversity loss by 2021.
The strategy for sustainable food is planned for spring 2020, including a “toolbox” for alternatives to pesticides, but the first draft is not revolutionary (see EUROPE 12374/8).
Under the heading ‘The EU as a global pioneer’, the text mentions the EU’s leadership in international negotiations and the inclusion of a chapter on sustainable development in trade agreements.
Nowhere is there any mention of a carbon tax mechanism at the borders.
Link to the document: http://bit.ly/2R5erVx (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)