The Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament is no exception: the climate emergency and science demand an increase in the European Union’s 2030 climate target to at least a 65% reduction in emissions to achieve climate neutrality by 2040, as well as a consistent and credible European Green Deal.
For the European Commission, which is about to unveil its Green Deal on 11 December, and the European Council (12 and 13 December), which must set the framework and instruments for the socially just transition to climate neutrality in the European economy by 2050, they explained to the press on Wednesday 4 December that they were under no illusions.
However, they have presented a climate bill of their own to inspire the Green Deal and, they hope, to indicate to European leaders what they believe is the way forward to respond seriously to the climate emergency.
While international negotiations are underway at COP25, Bas Eickhout (the Netherlands), who will lead Parliament’s delegation to Madrid (9-14 December), wondered what “Europe can offer”. According to him, this is reflected in the speech delivered by Ms von der Leyen, who could only announce the Commission’s willingness – not yet that of the European Council – to move towards climate neutrality by 2050 (see EUROPE 12381/8).
If the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland do not join this objective, Frans Timmermans’ task in Madrid will be difficult. “Will the Commission announce anything about the 2030 objective?”, the MEP wondered.
Mr Eickhout also called for European leaders to be consistent in discussions on the EU’s 2021-2027 budget to help the three Central European countries decide.
“These countries will have their entire economies to rebuild. It’s a huge task. However, the Member States that want more ambition for the climate are also those that do not want to exceed the 1% threshold (of EU GNI) for the budget: Denmark, Sweden, Austria and, in part, Germany”, the MEP stressed.
Disappointing draft European Council conclusions
Dated 2 December, the draft European Council conclusions, of which EUROPE has received a copy, mention climate neutrality by 2050, without indicating a date for communicating the EU’s long-term strategy to the UNFCCC. It makes the updating of the EU’s 2030 target subject to “an extended impact assessment”, to be presented by the Commission in 2020.
According to Mr Eickhout, “this means ‘delay’”.
The draft communication on the Green Deal provides for this update by October 2020, after the next EU/China summit in September. There is only 1 year left until COP26 (Scotland), where all parties must strengthen or update their NDC.
“Delaying is taking the risk of losing another 5 years”, warned the MEP, referring to the five-year cycle of revision of the NDCs provided for in the Paris Agreement.
“If we want an impact assessment, we must assess the impact of non-action”, added Greens/EFA group Co-President Philippe Lamberts (Belgium).
On the same day, Ms von der Leyen announced to the European press that she had asked Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič to present a study on this subject next week.
Three criteria to judge the seriousness of the Green Deal
Mr Lamberts mentioned the three criteria by which his political group will judge the seriousness of the Green Deal and the proposals that will result from it, namely:
1) respect for all the limits of the planet through a systemic approach: electric cars, for example, will have to run on renewable electricity to save lithium;
2) policy coherence, “because what is the point of 25% of the budget for climate action if the other parts of the budget make the situation worse? A radical change is needed in the CAP that reduces biodiversity and in trade policy that increases material flows”;
3) reducing inequalities. “A carbon price that increases VAT is a tax on consumption. We need a tax shift”, hammered the MEP.
“Ursula von der Leyen is sincere, but I am not sure that the Commission fully understands the implications of a real Green Deal”, he said.
According to Mr Eickhout, the text on the Green Deal that has ‘leaked’ into the press – a catalogue of topics to be covered (see EUROPE 12380/4) – can only encourage support, but the “CAP reform freezes agriculture for 7 years and the ‘fork to fork’ strategy is there to fix the problem created with the CAP reform”.
The ideal climate law according to the Greens
Europe must establish a binding legal framework as soon as possible, in order to achieve climate neutrality by 2040 and adapt existing European legislation to the 1.5° C target, said Michael Bloss of Germany.
The climate law, already prepared by the Greens to inspire the one promised by Ms von der Leyen within 100 days (around February) is “architecture which translates the scientific research for guidelines for the EU”, he explained.
This ‘ideal’ law provides for: – a right of citizens to be protected from climate change, their access to justice and their participation in law enforcement, as guaranteed by the Aarhus Convention; – the adoption of a climate policy based on a European carbon budget, i.e. what the EU can still afford to emit. All sectoral policies will have to be based on this carbon budget; – the establishment of a permanent and independent scientific monitoring body to monitor the Commission’s compliance with the carbon budget, i.e. the 1.5° C objective, and make public recommendations; – the establishment of climate neutrality as an objective for all sectoral legislative projects (buildings, transport, agriculture, trade and industry). (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)