Environment Committee urges EU strategy for a comprehensive climate change agreement in Copenhagen
Monday, 02 March 2009 17:56 | 
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The environment Committee has adopted a report by Czech EPP-ED MEP Miroslav Ouzky, which highlights the importance of putting an effective EU strategy in place, for a comprehensive climate change agreement at the COP-15 summit in December. MEPs welcomed the work done by the Commission in its Communication, which was published on 28 January (for link to related article, click here), underlining and reaffirming the EU’s commitment to keeping global warming to below the 2 degree threshold required for preventing dangerous climate change.
In the paper, the Committee calls upon ‘industrialised countries for providing sufficient, sustainable and predictable financial and technical support to the developing countries’. This could provide incentives for developing countries to commit to reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, help them adapt to the effects of climate change and reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation.
Within the context of reaching a global agreement in Copenhagen, the Committee calls on the European Council to aim for an agreement with industrialised countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the high-end of the 25-40% spectrum, as recommended by the latest IPPC study.
MEPs, like the Commission had done in its Communication, also raised the issue of where this funding would come from, saying that the majority should come from new sources in addition to those coming from Official Development Assistance (ODA). The paper reiterates European Council recommendations that a ‘significant part’ of this money should come from auction revenue raised by the EU’s ETS (emission trading scheme). In this regard, it goes on to say that since less than 50% of EU emissions covered by ETS rules, it is necessary to include other sectors in the scheme.
As a result the Committee calls on the European Council to mandate the Commission to urgently develop an action plan, in view of Copenhagen negotiations, on the future financing of climate policy. The figure the EU should be contributing towards mitigation and adaptation measures in such countries according to the report, should not be below EUR 30 million/year, and such a number could increase if new knowledge on the severity of climate change and its likely costs are found.
The Committee also urges the Commission to include forestry in the ETS, and that both market and non-market based finance should be used to fund future "Reducing Emissions for Deforestation and Degradation" (REDD) mechanisms under a post-2012 agreement. In this respect the report calls on the Commission and Council to develop pilot carbon markets for REDD, and to clarify how funding should be structured.
Pressure is therefore growing within the EU institutions, as the Copenhagen conference in December looms, for the EU to reaffirm its position as a leader in the fight against climate change. The European Commission and the environment Committee of the Parliament are urging the EU to be more ambitious and clearer in its goals, and to maintain the support of developing countries in trying to reach a comprehensive global climate treaty.
In the paper, the Committee calls upon ‘industrialised countries for providing sufficient, sustainable and predictable financial and technical support to the developing countries’. This could provide incentives for developing countries to commit to reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, help them adapt to the effects of climate change and reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation.
Within the context of reaching a global agreement in Copenhagen, the Committee calls on the European Council to aim for an agreement with industrialised countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the high-end of the 25-40% spectrum, as recommended by the latest IPPC study.
MEPs, like the Commission had done in its Communication, also raised the issue of where this funding would come from, saying that the majority should come from new sources in addition to those coming from Official Development Assistance (ODA). The paper reiterates European Council recommendations that a ‘significant part’ of this money should come from auction revenue raised by the EU’s ETS (emission trading scheme). In this regard, it goes on to say that since less than 50% of EU emissions covered by ETS rules, it is necessary to include other sectors in the scheme.
As a result the Committee calls on the European Council to mandate the Commission to urgently develop an action plan, in view of Copenhagen negotiations, on the future financing of climate policy. The figure the EU should be contributing towards mitigation and adaptation measures in such countries according to the report, should not be below EUR 30 million/year, and such a number could increase if new knowledge on the severity of climate change and its likely costs are found.
The Committee also urges the Commission to include forestry in the ETS, and that both market and non-market based finance should be used to fund future "Reducing Emissions for Deforestation and Degradation" (REDD) mechanisms under a post-2012 agreement. In this respect the report calls on the Commission and Council to develop pilot carbon markets for REDD, and to clarify how funding should be structured.
Pressure is therefore growing within the EU institutions, as the Copenhagen conference in December looms, for the EU to reaffirm its position as a leader in the fight against climate change. The European Commission and the environment Committee of the Parliament are urging the EU to be more ambitious and clearer in its goals, and to maintain the support of developing countries in trying to reach a comprehensive global climate treaty.
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