The EU elections and climate change
The EU elections and climate change - Part 1
Climate change is an enormous danger, but it can be controlled in ways which make us healthier, happier and richer. The EU has a major role in controlling climate change, so everyone should vote in the Euro-elections. The EU is very far from perfect on climate issues: for example, the Common Agricultural Policy, as well as destroying landscape and wildlife and being bad for human health, seriously damages the climate. But the EU now has some good targets, policies and laws to minimise climate change.
So people should vote for the party that they think will do most to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The main parties now all recognise that action is urgent and will also be good for employment and the economy. So which Party would do most to prevent dangerous climate change? Which would do most to improve energy efficiency, so saving money, saving lives and creating many new jobs in the construction industry? Who would best promote the industries of the future, such as renewable energy? Who would radically reform the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) which, as well as destroying landscape and wildlife and wasting billions of pounds/euros, is also a climate disaster?
It is always hard to know whether a political party will actually do what it promises in its manifesto, and for Euro-elections it is particularly difficult. The European Parliament has considerable law-making powers, but the Council of Ministers has more. Parliament cannot initiate legislation. Also, it isn't obvious whether keen voters should read Europe-wide manifestos of the political groupings, or national ones of the parties.
The Euro-manifestos are generally vague, non-binding and often refer to issues over which the European Parliament has no powers. In this year's manifestos the right-of-centre European People's Party (EPP), the Liberals and the Socialists all call for greening the economy.
The EPP proposes a 30% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 - the EU is currently committed to 20%. The Socialists call for 10 million new green jobs by 2020 (2 million of them in renewable energy), and a European Common Energy Policy, and for agriculture and transport to be included in a comprehensive EU Climate Directive.
The Liberals say that the EU should become the world's leading low carbon economy, and that the CAP should be replaced by a policy promoting food, rural development and sustainable land use.
The most ambitious Euro-manifesto is, not surprisingly, the Greens', which calls for emission reductions of 40% by 2020, five million green jobs over the coming five years, trans-European railway connections and affordable public transport in cities.
The Greens also call for the Common Agricultural Policy to promote organic farming (at present less than 15% of total subsidy goes to organic). Organic agriculture is at least a third less damaging to the climate than intensive agriculture, as well as being much better for wildlife and human health.