According to proposed amendments to the draft report by MEP Jytte Guteland (S&D, Sweden) on Climate Law, obtained by EUROPE on Wednesday 10 June, a fairly large majority of members of the European Parliament’s Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) would support the idea of applying the 2050 climate neutrality target to each Member State individually, not just the EU as a whole.
Included in Mrs Guteland's draft report (see EUROPE 12483/11), this possibility would not only be supported by the S&D, Greens/EFA, GUE/NGL and Renew Europe parliamentary groups, but also, with nuances, by the EPP.
“Each Member State shall seek to achieve climate neutrality by 2050 through the collective actions of the Union”, says a proposed amendment tabled by 15 EPP members, including the shadow rapporteur for the group on this dossier, Mairead McGuinness (Ireland).
Peter Liese (Germany), coordinator of the EPP group, even suggests that “all Member States should be responsible in reaching climate neutrality by 2050 the latest”.
With regard to raising the greenhouse gas emission reduction target set for 2030 in relation to 1990 levels, the proposed amendments logically reflect the positions already expressed on 28 May, when Mrs Guteland presented her report (see EUROPE 12495/21). While left-wing MEPs in the ENVI committee broadly support a -65% (S&D and Greens/EFA) or even -70% (GUE/NGL) reduction, other groups seem to be opposed (ECR, ID, EPP) or divided on the issue (Renew Europe).
For example, Pascal Canfin (France), Chair of the ENVI Committee and member of Renew Europe, advocates a more ambitious reduction than his group’s shadow rapporteur, Nils Torvalds (Finland): -60% for the first and “ at least -55% ” for the second.
To see the proposed amendments: https://bit.ly/2Acm2vL (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)