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Environment ministers favour flexible EU climate action

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Published 04 March 2008, updated 14 December 2012
Tags
climate change, emissions trading scheme

EU environment ministers have seconded the generally positive reaction to the Commission's climate and energy package given last week by energy ministers. Flexibility is needed for reducing CO2 emissions, however, to prevent key EU industries from moving operations elsewhere, they said.

EU member states have made numerous public calls for tough action on climate change, and the Council and Parliament have applauded the Commission's 23 January proposals and have set to work on adopting the laws that will translate the EU's commitments into binding measures.

But a comparable international commitment to greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions after the expiry of the Kyoto Protocol is still missing. Many EU states, notably those with a high concentration of energy-intensive industries, are concerned that if the EU acts 'alone', the bloc's green agenda could push industries to take their operations to countries with laxer environmental laws.

Concerns about this sort of delocalisation, or 'carbon leakage', were most recently aired yesterday (3 March) during a meeting of EU environment ministers in Brussels. EU energy ministers gave their input to the climate measures on 28 February (EurActiv 29/02/08). 

Broader conclusions on the climate and energy proposals will be agreed during the upcoming Spring European Council of 13-14 March. The incoming French EU Presidency is hoping to reach at least a political agreement on the package by the end of its term in December 2008, according to comments made on 3 March by the country's environment minister Jean-Louis Borloo.

Positions: 

A majority of the environment ministers from the EU's new member states in Central and Eastern Europe (EU 12) called for more flexibility in terms of how GHG reduction is distributed between those installations and operations that fall under EU ETS and those sectors beyond the scope of the EU's carbon market. 

A number of ministers from 'older' member states (EU 15), including Spain and the UK, also called for flexibility, but in particular with respect to using emissions credits obtained at international level towards their EU targets. 

EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas expressed scepticism about the excessive use of such mechanisms without a solid international deal being in place.

Germany wants the Commission to identify as soon as possible which sectors qualify as energy-intensive under the EU ETS. The call was echoed by most of the delegations, who say that the delay in the decision (the Commission has said it will specify the sectors by 2010 or 2011) is creating uncertainty and exacerbating the risk of carbon leakage. 

Meanwhile, the European Environment Bureau (EEB), the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) and the Social Platform are urging the EU to up its GHG reduction targets to between 25% and 40% while putting in place border tax adjustments in order to "protect EU-based industry from unfair competition," according to a joint statement prepared in view of the 13-14 March European Council.

Greenpeace  says concerns about carbon leakage are being overplayed. "This concept [of industry moving from Europe to regions with more lenient climate policies] is wholly unsubstantiated and merits neither the attention nor the mention it is currently receiving," the group said in a statement. 

Next steps: 
  • 13-14 March: European Council (Spring Summit);
  • Dec. 2008: Date by which the French EU Presidency wants to find a political agreement in conjunction with a major international climate negotiation in Poznan, Poland.
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Background: 

The Commission, on 23 January, proposed a package of climate and energy proposals designed to bring the EU's emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) down by 20% by 2020 while increasing the use of renewable energies by 20% during the same period. A revised EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) with an EU-wide CO2 cap was presented as a central part of the package.

A separate Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET Plan) was also proposed at the end of 2007. It is meant to support the 20% targets by increasing the use of 'clean' or low GHG-emitting energy technologies. Financing issues related to the SET Plan have been delayed until November 2008 (see EurActiv 27/02/08).

EU efforts to reduce GHG emissions will be upped to 30% by 2020, under the condition that an international agreement for tackling climate change beyond the expiry of the Kyoto Protocol in 2012 is reached. 

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