EU set to exceed targets set in Kyoto
Tuesday, 17 November 2009 14:13 | 
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The European Environment Agency (EEA) released a progress report last week, which states that EU Member States are set to exceed their emission reduction targets set out in the Kyoto Protocol. The latest projections indicate that the EU-15 will surpass their 8% reduction target compared to 1990 levels, while 10 out of the remaining 12 Member States who joined the EU later are also set to meet their individual targets of between 6-8%.
The EEA predicts that greenhouse gas emissions in the EU will have dropped by 13% by the end of the year, meaning that the 8% collective target would have been exceeded. The report does also warn however, that a combination of new and innovative policies and measures will be needed to ensure the continued success of the EU in this respect.
It estimates that if the EU were to continue on its current path without adding to and improving its climate-related policies, this would mean that EU-15 emissions would only be 6.9% below the base level for the 2008-2012 commitment-period. Here, two policy tools in particular are mentioned as being key for bringing down emissions further in future: the EU’s ETS (Emission Trading Scheme) and the Renewable Energy Directive. In addition to this 10 of the 15 EU Member States plan to make use of the Kyoto protocols ‘flexible mechanisms’, a system whereby countries can offset their emissions by buying credits, whilst afforestation schemes are another method being investigated.
It is widely acknowledged that part of the reason why emission reduction efforts have been so successful in the EU more recently, are down to the economic crisis, which has slowed down production.
Nevertheless Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas praised the assessment saying, "These projections further cement the EU's leadership in delivering on our international commitments to combat climate change… And with the EU climate and energy package adopted earlier this year we have already put in place the key measures to reduce our emissions much further to at least 20% below 1990 levels by 2020’.
A successor to the Kyoto protocol is potentially only a month away, as leaders and negotiators will meet in Copenhagen to discuss a new global climate deal in December. However the signs seem increasingly to be pointing to the fact that whilst a political agreement may be reached, no binding deal will be reached, raising the possibility that a further UN summit will be needed.
The EEA predicts that greenhouse gas emissions in the EU will have dropped by 13% by the end of the year, meaning that the 8% collective target would have been exceeded. The report does also warn however, that a combination of new and innovative policies and measures will be needed to ensure the continued success of the EU in this respect.
It estimates that if the EU were to continue on its current path without adding to and improving its climate-related policies, this would mean that EU-15 emissions would only be 6.9% below the base level for the 2008-2012 commitment-period. Here, two policy tools in particular are mentioned as being key for bringing down emissions further in future: the EU’s ETS (Emission Trading Scheme) and the Renewable Energy Directive. In addition to this 10 of the 15 EU Member States plan to make use of the Kyoto protocols ‘flexible mechanisms’, a system whereby countries can offset their emissions by buying credits, whilst afforestation schemes are another method being investigated.
It is widely acknowledged that part of the reason why emission reduction efforts have been so successful in the EU more recently, are down to the economic crisis, which has slowed down production.
Nevertheless Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas praised the assessment saying, "These projections further cement the EU's leadership in delivering on our international commitments to combat climate change… And with the EU climate and energy package adopted earlier this year we have already put in place the key measures to reduce our emissions much further to at least 20% below 1990 levels by 2020’.
A successor to the Kyoto protocol is potentially only a month away, as leaders and negotiators will meet in Copenhagen to discuss a new global climate deal in December. However the signs seem increasingly to be pointing to the fact that whilst a political agreement may be reached, no binding deal will be reached, raising the possibility that a further UN summit will be needed.
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