A group of MEPs from the influential environment Committee at the European Parliament, including GLOBE EU President Sirpa Pietikainen, have spoken out against Commission plans to split the current environment DG (Directorate General) into two departments. It is currently foreseen that the new Commission would create a separate climate action department to focus exclusively on climate-related policy issues, however the MEPs have voiced their concerns that this could end up being counterproductive.

In a letter addressed to Mr Barroso, the Parliamentarians noted how they 'find no reason for reducing the competences of your directorate-general for environment regarding climate policies'. They point out that the current environment department is largely responsible for the recognition the EU has gained over the last decade, both domestically and internationally, and suggest that the Commission would do better to work to support the current framework.
 
This leads the group, which is led by environment Committee chairman Jo Leinen MEP, to call for a more empowered environment DG, something which they believe could be achieved by having two heads for the department. Instead of splitting the DGs then, the MEPs propose to have one Commissioner for environment and one for climate action.
 
Mrs Pietikainen explains that the principle reason why reinforcing the current structure is so important in the eyes of the signatories of the letter, is that climate is just one of many environmental issues all of which are interlinked, and as such she believes there is a need to try and resolve these concerns within one framework rather than individually.
 
Having two Commissioners as proposed by the MEPs, 'would be the best institutional guarantee for a climate policy able to drive the decarbonisation of our energy sector, create green jobs and provide the impetus for shifting towards a more enlightened system of production and consumption able to address the biodiversity-related drivers of climate change'.