Today we voted on two parts of the EU Climate and Energy Package, ETS and Effort sharing. Please read more below.
EU tightens up climate demands
The EU parliaments environment committe today voted on two parts of the climate package that the EU commission presented in january 2008. It concerns the trade in emission rights, ETS, and the effort sharing in the work for the climate. Both decisions show a will to make a strong effort for the climate.
”I am fairly pleased with the result, says Jens Holm, MEP and member of ENVI committee and the climate comitte. The pressure from industry to water this down has been immense. With this decision we will have a working system for emission trade, without loopholes for industry.”
The emission trade is tightened
The EU trade in emission rights has been under fire for having a too generous a policy for dealing out emission rights.. This will now be sharpened.
”The spreading of free emission rights will diminish and dissappear, and that is good. The way things are for the moment the industry get free shares that they can use to make profits, without having to reduce their emissions a single gram. It is also good that halv of the income from auctioning will go to climate projects in developing countries where they can do great good.”
The decision on emission trade means that:
* Sectors concerned by emission trade will reduce emissions of carbon dioxide by 21 grams by 2020, compared to 2005 levels.
* Electricity producers will not recieve any emission rights for free, they will be auctioned. Other sectors will initially get 85 per cent free, but this will be reduced and reach 100 per cent auctioning by 2020.
* 40 per cent of the trade systems emission reductions may consist of climate projects in developing countries.
* EU target to reduce emissions by 20 per cent by 2020 will rise automatically to at least 30 per cent when there is a new international treaty in continuation of the Kyoto treaty.
* 100 per cent of income from auctioning will go to climate measures, half of it within the EU, half to developing countries.
Effort sharing
The comittee also voted on effort sharing between the member states. The background is that the EU heads of state 2007 decided to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases by 20 percent by 2020.
The decision means that:
* The sectors not included in emissions trade system shall reduce emissions by 10 percent compared to 2005 levels.
* The EU commits to reducing greenhouse gases by 50 per cent by 2035 and by 60-80 per cent by 2050, compared to 1990 levels.
* Member states that fail to reach reductions will have less emission trade rights until the reductions are reached.
* Binding commitments to supply climate subsidies to developing countries. By 2013 the EU will give 5 billion euros and by 2020 10 billion euros.
Jens Holm: ”I am especially pleased over the long term demands to reduce EU emissions. It is also positive that the committe wants to commit money to developing countries, even if the amount should have been greater.”
The parliament plans to vote in plenary on both decisions in December.