Brussels, 04/12/2008 (Agence Europe) - With negotiations intensifying on the Climate Change package, on Wednesday 3 December, the European Parliament Temporary Committee on Climate Change, which was set up in 2007 to demonstrate MEPs' resolute involvement in combating global warming, adopted its final report on a future EU integrated policy on climate change. The ambitious policy goals and recommendations it contains will be put to the vote at the plenary session in February 2009. The report, as adopted, will form the Parliament's contribution to the current debate on measures to combat climate change after 2012 - the challenge for international negotiations in Copenhagen in December 2009 on a global agreement on a post-Kyoto regime. Parliament intends to publish a version of its report for the general reader within three months of its adoption.
To meet the target of restricting the temperature rise to 2° Celsius compared with the pre-industrial era, MEPs believe that the EU and other industrialised countries will, acting as a group, have to set a target of a 25-40% reduction in emissions by 2020 and a long-term objective of at least an 80% reduction in emissions by 2050 compared with the 1990 level.
Concerned that the negative effects of climate change may be both rapid and more serious than originally thought, they call on the Commission to follow developments closely to determine whether remaining below the 2° Celsius rise will be sufficient to avoid disastrous climate change.
The committee also recommends a raft of measures, with all EU economic sectors bringing their own contribution. These measures include, in particular: - a binding goal of 20% improvement in energy efficiency by 2020 should be proposed by the Commission along with specific interim reduction targets; - minimum energy efficiency criteria should be included in a comprehensive public procurement policy for public buildings and services; - a flexible policy is needed which take account of the complex nature of biofuels production, including life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions and assessment of all relevant indirect effects; - the Commission should consider setting binding reduction targets for GHG emissions from the agricultural sector; - a European Climate Fund and/or corresponding funds in the Member States should be established; - an EU-wide “supergrid” accessible to all forms of electricity providers should be developed; - incentives should be made available for citizens to reduce emissions in an affordable way, for example, by developing information on the carbon content of products and services.
“We have set out ambitious and necessary goals. There are also some unrealistic points, which have more to do with ideological desires and which we will have to get rid of in plenary session,” said rapporteur Karl-Heinz Florenz (EPP-ED, Germany). He was critical of the call for “energy-neutral” buildings by 2015. “It is true that there is great potential for energy efficiency in buildings in the EU and across the world. However, we have to compare costs and benefits. It think we have to concentrate our efforts on classic insulation and increased use of solar power,” he stated.
He also felt it a bit too much that the demand that CO2-free energy production rest solely on renewables: while this option would seem to be the solution of the future, “it is unrealistic to believe that, in the medium-term, the increasing demand for energy can be satisfied without nuclear energy”. Lastly, he was unhappy that “blame was cast on agriculture” because “although some present seriously believe that the climate can be protected by giving up meat and milk production, it is plain folly. If we want to stop methane production, we would have to get rid of humans too!” (A.N./transl.rt)