Climate change – Photo Mariaisen2
(STRASBOURG) – The European Parliament gave its backing Wednesday to plans for new compulsory greenhouse gas cuts under the Paris agreement on climate change following a debate on the announced U.S. withdrawal.
The cuts are aimed at helping to deliver on the European Union’s overall target for 2030 on all policies – a 40 per cent cut from 1990 levels. The EU is committed to these cuts in the framework of the Paris Agreement.
The legislation will make it possible to break down the EU targets into binding, national ones for sectors not covered by the EU carbon market – i.e. agriculture, transport, building and waste, which together account for about 60% of the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Each EU member state will have to follow an emissions reduction pathway, calculated from a starting point of 2018, instead of 2020 as proposed by the Commission, in order to avoid an increase in emissions in the first few years or a postponement of their emission reductions.
To ensure long-term predictability, MEPs also set a target for 2050, of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80% compared to 2005 levels.
They are also proposing rules to reward early action from Member States with a GDP per capita below EU average which have taken, or will take, action before 2020, with more flexibility during the later part of the scheme.
To help Member States achieve their goals, the regulation allows them to “borrow” up to 10% of the following year’s allowance, reducing it accordingly.
MEPs opened negotiations with the EU Council with an aim to reach a first reading agreement on the proposal. Informal “trilogue” negotiations will start when Council has set its own position.
Regarding the announcement by U.S. President Trump to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, Parliament’s President Antonio Tajani said the U.S. administration’s decision was a mistake: “Climate change is one the most pressing global challenges that we face today […] By working together with nations around the world we can successfully deliver a cleaner and safer planet to our citizens”
Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said the EU would not renegotiate the Paris Agreement. He was supported by MEPs, who overwhelmingly spoke in favour of taking the UNFCCC 2015 agreement forward and applying it fully.
The announcement from U.S. President Trump was criticised by EU lawmakers, who announced that the European Union will stick to its commitments and move forward with its own climate legislation.
Further information, European Parliament
Adopted text will soon be available here (14.06.2017)
Procedure file: Binding annual greenhouse gas emission reductions by Member States from 2021 to 2030
