In the midst of a climate emergency, the Heads of State or Government of the Twenty-Eight agreed, on Thursday 12 December, on the EU’s objective of climate neutrality by 2050, while specifying that one Member State was not in a position, at this stage, to commit itself to implementing this objective.
Not surprisingly, it’s Poland. This country, heavily dependent on coal for its electricity production, has fought to the end to obtain details on the extent of the financial support it could receive to accompany a very costly energy transition, the social consequences of which it also fears.
This was in vain, since negotiations on the EU’s 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) are ongoing.
It was agreed to return to the subject in June to give Warsaw time to take an informed decision, based in particular on the proposal on the Just Transition Fund, expected in January from the European Commission, and then the future MFF.
“We have a climate agreement. It is very important to show our ambition beyond the Green Deal. We want Europe to be the first climate-neutral continent by 2050”, said European Council President Charles Michel, brandishing this result as a success and a strong signal to COP25 (see EUROPE 12388/8).
He pointed out that the European Council had “understood the need to give Poland more time”. According to him, some progress has been made since the failure of last June’s Summit (see EUROPE 12279/2).
Faced with an unprecedented decision that violates the consensus rule required by the European Council and could set a precedent, Mr Michel conceded to the press that he had shown “creativity”.
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she was “very encouraged by the Member States’ support” for the European Green Deal she presented to them (see EUROPE 12388A1). She told the press that the Polish exception “will not change the timetable for the presentation of the climate law [expected in March] that will set the EU’s climate neutrality in stone by 2050”. In its conclusions, the European Council calls on the EU Council to make progress in its work on this subject.
“Overall, this is a major step forward, and that is why I think this intermediate result is very good”, commented German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose country has already committed itself to achieving climate neutrality by 2050.
Although the European Council’s political guidelines for the EU’s long-term climate strategy stress the need to take into account the different starting points of different countries, national particularities and freedom of choice in the energy mix, Hungary and the Czech Republic, supported by Slovakia, absolutely wanted nuclear energy to be explicitly mentioned in the conclusions, to the great displeasure of Luxembourg and Austria. They finally won their case. The text mentions that “some Member States have indicated that they rely on nuclear energy as part of their national energy mix”.
In its conclusions, the European Council “endorses the objective of achieving a climate-neutral EU by 2050, in accordance with the objectives of the Paris Agreement”.
Poland also wanted to know what period beyond 2050 could be granted to it to achieve carbon neutrality. The idea of 2070 was even put forward by Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.
The Paris Agreement does not speak of climate neutrality by 2050, but of a balance between anthropogenic emissions and forest carbon sinks in the second half of the century.
The conclusions express a strong appreciation to Spain for the successful organisation of COP25 in Madrid.
See the conclusions adopted (in French): http://bit.ly/36wTDuN (Original version in French by Aminata Niang with the editorial staff)