As the sixth round of interinstitutional negotiations (‘trilogues’) on the ‘Climate Law’ approaches on 20 April, negotiators from the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union agree on at least one thing: the definition of the EU’s 2030 climate target remains the major bone of contention between the co-legislators.
Predicting a “very long” trilogue, Michael Bloss (Germany), the Greens/EFA negotiator, continued to point the finger at the EU Council, criticising the Portuguese Presidency for refusing to negotiate on this issue and on the 2050 target (Parliament wants the climate neutrality target to apply to all Member States, not just the EU as a whole - see EUROPE 12688/6).
“The Council doesn’t want to move an inch from its position”, he said on Thursday 15 April in an exchange with the press, while considering that Parliament is, on the contrary, open to negotiation.
In the EU Council, the issue of the Portuguese Presidency’s mandate on the ‘Climate Law’ was discussed on Wednesday 14 April by the Member States’ ambassadors to the EU (Coreper).
Several countries reportedly stressed the need to reach an agreement at the end of the sixth trilogue so that the EU could present an improved 2030 target the following day (22 April) at the international climate summit hosted by US President Joe Biden.
“The 2030 target is still a big issue”, a diplomatic source told us.
In a Portuguese Presidency document seen by EUROPE, Lisbon proposed two options to Member States on this issue: (1) establish a ceiling on the contribution of carbon sinks to the 2030 net emissions reduction target; (2) establish a discount on the contribution of sinks until 2030.
According to our sources, the Member States would prefer the first option.
Divisions in Parliament
While the EPP, ID and ECR groups in Parliament do not support the target of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 60% by 2030 (compared to 1990 levels) voted by Parliament (see EUROPE 12577/12), it seems that new divisions are emerging within Parliament.
According to Michael Bloss, the chair of Parliament’s Environment Committee (ENVI), Pascal Canfin (Renew Europe, France), is trying to convince his colleagues to accept a target of 52.8%.
This would mean aligning with the EU Council’s position, which calls for a net reduction in GHG emissions (including carbon uptake) of at least 55% (see EUROPE 12621/1), Bloss said.
Other items
In contrast to the 2030 target, other issues are said to be close to agreement.
Member States are reportedly prepared to accept Parliament’s proposal to create a European Climate Change Council (see EUROPE 12568/6) as a new independent body, rather than as a network of existing national bodies as has been proposed by some countries.
Regarding the establishment of an EU ‘GHG budget’ proposed by MEPs, the Portuguese Presidency suggested to Member States that this budget should be one of the benchmarks for setting the EU’s climate target for 2040. Wording that might be suitable for Parliament. (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)