Climate and energy: is the package really ambitious enough?

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Published Friday, January 25, 2008 at 09:57
by Editor (1512 views and 1 comments)

This week Barroso presented one of his most ambitious proposals to date; a climate and energy package that outlines how Europe can lead in climate protection. But is it really ambitious enough? Here are a few of the package’s key ingredients:

  • A ‘low-carbon Europe’ by 2020: 20% reduction in greenhouse gases; 20% more effective use of energy, and 20% of energy from wind, solar and other renewable sources.
  • The richer the country, the more ambitious the target. Germany will, for example, have to get 18 percent of its energy from renewables by 2020. In comparison poorer country like Malta will only have to achieve 10 %
  • Today emission certificates are basically handed out for free. From 2013 the EU ‘Emission Trading Scheme’ will gradually move to the complete auctioning of emission certificates for some 10,000 energy-intensive plants across Europe - representing around 40% of the EU's total CO2 emissions.
  • No ‘eco dumping’: when importing goods from polluting countries European companies will have to pay extra taxes, if a global agreement on reduction cannot be found.


Reactions are mixed. Ministers and energy companies are complaining that they find the targets way too ambitious. They fear consequences such as higher taxes, massive job losses in the energy sector and a weakening of European companies’ ability to compete.

In the other end of the spectrum we find the European Parliament. Some of its members express concern that Commission’s goals are not ambitious enough. They would have preferred a 30% target.

Exactly how ambitious should Europe’s socialists and social democrats be when it comes to reducing CO2 emissions? Should the PES manifesto suggest to push member states and business even harder for CO2 reductions - or?

Tags: climate change, CO2, environment, renewable energy

Comments

1. 30% by nanne in berlin on Saturday, January 26, 2008 at 04:13

As far as I know, 30% is still on offer - officially - as part of a global climate deal, if other countries also step up to the plate. It's an unlikely scenario that the countries that matter (the US, Russia, China, India) are going to give the necessary kind of commitment for the EU to really commit that much. But it's possible. Maybe there are ways to make this more likely. The PES should also cast its sight outside of Europe, for that matter.

Otherwise, it matters a great deal how we accomplish 20%. So the PES should also focus on the policy debate and make sure that we have a set of policies that makes us ready to aim for more when we commit to more, and to perhaps overshoot our aims.

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