Commission’s Climate and Energy Package Lacks Ambition Although It Has Some Good Points:
20 % Reduction in CO2 emissions by 2020 will not enable us to combat climate change
The Spokespersons of the European Green Party today said that the European Commission's package of legislative proposals on climate and energy, which was launched today, lacks the ambition and courage which the urgency of the situation requires, although it does include a number of progressive policy changes.
EGP Co-Spokesperson Philippe Lamberts said: "The one major flaw apparent in this package is that the Commission has based its proposals on a 20% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020, rather than the 30% reduction which all credible scientific analysis shows will be required if we are to avoid the most disastrous effects of climate change. In doing so, the Commission has sent out the very negative message that it is not confident that the EU will be able to persuade other countries to commit to a 30% reduction in emissions in upcoming international climate negotiations. Today's 20% reduction target is also much less ambitious than the approach recommended by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which said that developed countries must commit to reductions between 25 and 40% by 2020 if the worst impacts of climate change are to be averted. The 20 % reduction in emissions by 2020 is simply inadequate and the EU must raise it to 30% if the EU is really to take the leading role in combating climate change. However, there are some elements of the package presented by the Commission today which we welcome: binding targets for reductions in emissions, a significant increase in the use of renewable sources of energy and incentives to encourage industry to reduce pollution and use energy more efficiently."
EGP Co-Spokesperson Ulrike Lunacek continued: "One aspect of the commission's package which we disagree strongly with is the inclusion of a 10% binding target for an increase in the use of agrofuels, despite the fact that the EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas himself admitted just a few days ago that this target is already causing serious environmental and social problems, including deforestation and a rise in food prices. The EU must withdraw the mandatory 10% target for biofuels. We do recognise though that today's package does represent a first step towards transforming the EU economy into one based on renewable sources of energy. It is vitally important that the EU and its member states are able to persuade citizens that renewables are not only a crucial part of reducing climate change but also offer a great opportunity to create jobs and create sustainable economic growth . We European Greens also argue that increasing the proportion of energy derived from renewables is the best way to reduce the EU's dependence on energy sources from outside the EU, with all the tension and uncertainty such dependence brings. Member States must not undermine the Commission's strategy on renewables by squabbling with each other about the targets for their respective countries."
