Commission plans for a low-carbon future

‘Roadmap’ says EU should cut greenhouse-gas emissions by up to 44% by 2030.

The debate over Europe’s climate-change targets re-ignited today when the European Commission published plans aimed at deepening energy savings and moving towards a low-carbon economy.

The European Union should be aiming to cut greenhouse-gas emissions by up to 44% by 2030, compared to 1990 levels, to avoid paying over the odds to move to a green economy, according to the low-carbon roadmap published by the Commission today.

“We need to start the transition towards a competitive low-carbon economy now. The longer we wait. The higher the costs will be,” Connie Hedegaard, the European commissioner for climate action, said in a statement.

The roadmap restated figures from earlier leaked versions – notably that the EU could cut emissions by 25% by 2020, simply by improving efforts to meet existing targets on energy savings. This figure had been criticised by some Green politicans and campaigners for undermining the EU’s climate policy.

Today’s paper was more explicit that climate targets were unchanged. The EU has a long-standing offer to cut emissions by 20% by 2020, and by 30% if other rich countries join in. The Commission does not suggest setting new 2020 targets, according to the paper.

But the battle over 30% remains charged, with national governments split over the best course of action. Business groups are also divided: BusinessEurope, the pan-European employers’ association, remains opposed to the EU going beyond 30% alone, while many low-carbon business groups, for example the European Wind Energy Association, argue that it will be harder to meet the EU’s long-term climate reduction goals without increasing the 2020 targets now.

Bas Eickhout, a Dutch green MEP, who is writing a report for the European Parliament on the EU’s climate targets, said that the roadmap would “fail to revive EU climate leadership,” adding that “if the EU follows the path laid out in the roadmap, it will neither reap the benefits of the emerging global clean and green economy nor will it inspire other countries to more ambitious climate policies”.

Arguments were also re-started over the EU’s energy-efficiency strategy. This is the weakest point of the EU’s low-carbon effort, with national governments less than halfway to meeting a target to make energy savings of 20% by 2020, compared to the business-as-usual trend. Greens and companies in the business of energy efficiency continued to argue that this target should be written into EU law. But national governments remain firmly opposed to such a move.

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 “The Commission’s paper shows that the case for a 30% EU carbon target has never been stronger. Lobby efforts by old carbon-intensive industries could not derail plans to adjust carbon trading to a higher carbon target.”
Joris den Blanken, Greenpeace EU climate policy director.

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“Policies that drive industry out of Europe will reduce European growth and jobs without helping the global climate.
Philippe de Buck, director-general of BusinessEurope, the pan-European employers’ association.

“All EU institutions recognise that the European Union is falling dangerously short of its 2020 energy efficiency target. It is therefore hard to understand why this new energy efficiency plan lacks the ambition or concrete measures needed to put Europe back on track.
Monica Frassoni, president of the European Alliance to Save Energy.

 “The introduction of binding targets [on energy efficiency] would create uncertainty and administrative burdens.  Businesses, especially smaller ones, need more information and financial incentives to increase the uptake of energy audits and to ensure effective follow-up measures.”
Arnaldo Abruzzini, secretary-general of Eurochambres, pan-European organisation mostly representing small and medium-sized businesses.

The Commission’s energy department won an argument on public procurement in buildings. Against lobbying from other Commission departments, it secured the right to propose that national authorities must refurbish at least 3% of their building stock (as measured by floor area) each year. This plan is also likely to run into opposition from national governments, when legal proposals are published later this year.

Proposals on energy savings will be published by the Commission before the summer, while environment ministers will issue conclusions on the low-carbon roadmap in June.