Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-01-31-Speech-3-055"
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"en.20070131.16.3-055"2
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".
Madam President, may I start by congratulating you on your election to the office of vice-president; I am certain that you will meet all the demands and expectations of the honourable Members who supported you with their vote.
The Commission proposes that developed countries – including the European Union – on average take on a 30% emission reduction target by 2020 compared to 1990 levels. In addition, the Commission has put forward a number of options for engaging developing countries with the aim of limiting the growth of their emissions and eventually reduce their emissions after 2020. The new targets for developed countries and tools to engage developing countries should form part of a new agreement to follow up from the Kyoto Protocol’s first commitment period in 2013.
Obtaining such a new agreement will not be easy and will require firm European Union leadership. The Commission has proposed that the European Union demonstrate this leadership through a clear, independent commitment to achieve at least 20% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in 2020 compared to 1990 levels, as I said previously. This independent commitment will help us break the deadlock in international climate negotiations. It underpins our strong determination to obtain an international agreement that will enable a 30% reduction to be made by developed countries and provide a strong message to our partners. It is feasible, it is affordable and it is profitable to take ambitious action. Now is the time to move from words to action. Independent unilateral commitment is also essential to meet our competitiveness and energy efficiency and energy security objectives. It ensures continuity of the carbon market and provides incentives to make investments in low-carbon technology for beyond 2012.
Under European Union leadership, discussions in the United Nations framework are now increasingly shifting to issues of importance for an agreement on action post-2012. The Nairobi Climate Conference in November, whilst not making major headline-grabbing decisions, was in fact a step forward in terms of preparing the ground for a future agreement. For example, Nairobi saw agreement among parties to the Kyoto Protocol on a comprehensive work plan to be completed by 2008 or 2009 on further commitments of industrialised countries after 2012. There was a long sought-after agreement on conducting a comprehensive review of the Kyoto Protocol in 2008 and a series of important decisions on clean development mechanisms and adaptation. These will support developing countries in adapting to climate change and encourage more clean technology projects in Africa and other poorer regions.
Still, there is a large gap between talk and commitment to action. If we want an agreement within the next two to three years, the international community needs to show much more political will. Negotiations and commitments for developed countries and other contributions from developing countries need a kick start. This is precisely what the proposed 30% target and the 20% independent commitment is intended to do.
I expect the Spring Council to send a strong signal on the need for determined action on climate change and the crucial link between energy policy and climate change – climate policy. I also expect the European Council to support the targets that I have just outlined to you.
I hope a similar message of support for the approach proposed by the Commission will be given by the European Parliament. We need this support to strengthen political momentum behind efforts to meet the two-degree objective, and we need the European Union to practice what it preaches in order to persuade other countries to do so too – among them the United States, which is the number one emitter in the world and which provides the argument behind which fast developing countries like China, India and other emerging economies in south-east Asia and South America can hide and say, ‘if the United States, which is number one emitter, is not moving, then why should we move?’. So in this way we shall show that we practice what we preach and we shall persuade them to follow in a global agreement, because climate change is a global threat and needs a global response.
Mr President, never before has climate change been so prominent on the political agenda. The message from science is clear: climate change is happening. Citizens expect European Union leadership on this issue. The standard review and the Commission’s communication on post-2012 make the economic case for action. The risks of climate change far outweigh the costs of doing something about it. Following several natural events, notably the warm winter we are experiencing this year, there is a lively public debate about the threat of climate change. The European Union must use this political momentum to act. Now is the time for decisions on how to put Europe and the world on the path to a more energy-secure, low-carbon future.
The urgency and scale of the climate change challenge requires Europe to further reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and convince its partners around the globe to do likewise. The European Union has the objective of limiting global warming to two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The climate change and energy package that the Commission put on the table on 10 January provides a blueprint for a European Union strategy to meet this objective. It sketches the basic elements of a global climate agreement post-2012 and gives a clear signal on the necessary level of ambition. This will encourage the start of negotiation on a post-2012 deal. The strength of this fully integrated package is that it demonstrates that further reducing the European Union’s greenhouse gas emissions goes hand in hand with strengthening our competitiveness and the security of our energy supply. The credibility of the package is further underlined by the combination of concrete policy proposals to be adopted in 2007 or later.
We had the approval of our targets, which are very important. I can just remind you that about a year ago, we did not even talk about targets. We did not even think about unilateral commitments. About 15 months ago, the European Council had used the language ‘explore’ when giving the Commission the mandate: the mandate was to explore reduction pathways of 15 to 30% with other developed countries. Now we have a target to negotiate and we are asking the European Council to give us the mandate to negotiate a 30% target with other developed countries. On top of that we have a unilateral commitment, irrespective of the agreement and until such an agreement is reached, to reduce by 20%, which will enable us to achieve the other targets which we have set regarding energy efficiency, carbon dioxide emissions and energy security.
Other specific measures are also needed in order to achieve these targets. As regards the decisions that we are taking regarding the national allocation plans, I should like to point out that if we had accepted the proposed national allocation plans, the emissions trading system – which is the most important instrument to fight climate change – would have collapsed by now.
We also have reductions from specific sectors: aviation has been included in the European Union emissions trading scheme and will contribute its fair share in reducing emissions; cars should also make a fair contribution towards reducing the emissions which are increasing; the transport sector, as you know, is increasing carbon dioxide emissions in the European Union tremendously, so it has to make reductions too. The automobile industry should make the vehicle technology improvements which are needed in order to deliver on what the European Council told me to go for last June: 120g per kilometre by 2012.
Today I am very glad to announce to you that we have adopted the fuel quality directive. This is the way to upgrade fuel requirements so they will be cleaner, emit less carbon dioxide and be better for the environment, better for health, better for fighting climate change. By 2020 we are going to save 500 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. So, today’s decision was very important and is independent of the car proposal, which we have for next week, as the President announced today.
There is a series of other measures which are needed, otherwise it is just a lot of talk. If we make declarations that we are going to cut reductions by 2020 or by 2050, and then come to the particular measures which are needed in order to achieve this, and everybody says, ‘we are not responsible; we are a special case; the others should make the reductions’, we shall never achieve these targets. We need to be determined to fight climate change. In order to do this it is not only the Commission, it is not only the Council – and I should like to thank you very much for all the support you have given us so far – it is also the national authorities, not only the ministers, the governments, but all the authorities which are responsible for dealing with climate change cases."@en1
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