European Climate Change Bill Promises Action
MEPs Agree to Cut Euro CO2 Emissions and Use More Renewable Energy
Dec 19, 2008
On the 17th December 2008 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) and national ministers reached agreement on a package of six new climate change laws that go further in protecting the environment than any other region in the world.
New Enviroment Laws to Tackle Climate Change
Linda McAvan, Labour MEP and Spokesperson for Climate Change in Europe, stated in a letter to environmentalists that, "These laws will deliver the EU’s target of reducing CO2 emissions by 20% (or 30% if there is an international agreement) by 2020 and increase the share of renewable energy to 20%."
The Climate Change Policies
Five of the most important policies agreed by the MEPs are listed below:
- An expanded and strengthened Emission Trading System (ETS) which will require every industrial company to make major cuts in their emissions. The majority of the ‘allowances to pollute’ will now have to be bought, rather than be given for free. In addition, at least half of the revenue that will be created should be earmarked for climate change measures in the EU and developing countries.
- An individual target for each Member State for sectors not covered by the ETS. MEPs made sure that strict limits were placed on the amount of emissions that national governments could offset using project credits in developing countries. MEPs also insisted that a penalty mechanism was included in the final agreement which means that if a Member State misses its annual target, it gets an even tougher target the next year.
- A huge expansion of renewable energy, including a binding target of 20% of energy consumption from renewable sources by 2020. This target is expected to produce up to 160,000 new ‘green’ jobs in the UK over the next 12 years. Following concerns about the impact if increased biofuel production, the final agreement includes strict environmental and social sustainability criteria. These criteria are the first of their kind in the world and we hope they will be quickly taken on board by other countries.
- A tough binding target for reducing CO2 emissions from cars which is expected to deliver a 60% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2020. MEPs made sure that car manufacturers will make these emission reductions through a “stick” of a tough penalty system and a “carrot” of super credits for very low emission cars.
- A new funding mechanism, worth around 9bn Euros, for demonstration projects of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) which will help not only the EU tackle emissions from coal-fired power stations, but also other countries such as China. In addition, a new law will make it mandatory for all new coal-fired power stations to be built “capture ready” so it can be retrofitted with CCS once the technology becomes commercially available.
The steps taken by the European Union seem to have worked, as the World Wildlife Fund considered the four European members of the G8 to be doing better in tackling climate control than the four non-European members after the 2009 G8 meeting in Italy.
 |
 |
