Civil Society, Climate Change, Environment, Europe, Headlines

CLIMATE CHANGE: Cut More Emissions, Build a Stronger EU – Activists

Stefania Bianchi

BRUSSELS, Oct 24 2005 (IPS) - As the European Union launched a new programme to investigate ways to curb its greenhouse emissions, environment groups stressed that the bloc could do more to address the challenges of climate change and reap economic and social benefits at the same time.

The European Commission, the European Union (EU) executive, launched the second phase of its European Climate Change Programme (ECCP) at a conference here Monday. One of the main aims will be to advocate for a “meaningful global climate change regime” post 2012, when the Kyoto Protocol expires.

The ECCP was initiated in 2000 to identify policies to help the EU reach its targets for emissions reduction under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. It set out 42 measures to curb greenhouse gas emissions – carbon dioxide is the leading culprit -, and the Commission says the first ECCP achieved an estimated 350 million tonne reduction in EU emissions.

The EU executive says ECCP II will focus on new cost-effective measures and technologies that will help the bloc further reduce its greenhouse gas emissions in the coming years and to adapt to the climate change effects that are inevitable.

The Commission wants the new programme to provide “a strong push for innovation” in climate-friendly technologies and for “the inclusion of all emitting sectors, such as aviation, shipping and road transport” in mitigation efforts.

Launching the programme Monday, Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said it was time for the EU and member states to develop new measures for combating climate change and to bring emissions below the targets set in the Kyoto Protocol.

“The recent extreme weather events around the world are consistent with scientific findings about the effects of our changing climate. It is high time that we start preparing new measures to limit climate change,” he said.

Areas of particular interest include passenger road transport and aviation. The programme will also have working groups studying the field of geological carbon capture and storage, and how Europe might adapt to the effects of climate change that cannot be avoided.

Dimas also highlighted the important role the EU plays in the global fight to mitigate climate change.

“This is not just leadership for the sake of leadership, or because we think we can fight climate change on our own – we clearly can’t. The EU’s commitment and success has been an inspiration to our global partners. Without it, it is certain that the Kyoto Protocol would not have entered into force,” he said.

However, some environmental groups insist the EU can do much more to address the challenges of climate change.

In a report released to coincide with the launch of the ECCP II, the global conservation organisation WWF says the EU can cut its greenhouse gas emissions 33 percent by 2020 through energy efficiency measures, renewable energies, and with a strong emissions trading system.

Although WWF welcomes the launch of the ECCP II, it says the EU should establish clear targets to further reduce greenhouse gases by 2020.

The WWF report, “Freezing Climate Change”, outlines concrete steps the EU should take to cut carbon dioxide emissions by one third over the next 14 years, “without reducing living standards or damaging the economy.”

The study compares a scenario of existing policies still in place with an alternative scenario which factors in new policies to increase energy efficiency and market penetration of renewable energies, like wind and solar power.

WWF says “without immediate action” energy demand will grow up to 1.46 percent per year, while it could decrease by 0.4 percent per year if “concrete policies” are adopted.

Private households alone could save a fifth of their energy demands through improved home insulation, more efficient heating and cooling systems and by using more energy-efficient appliances, according to the report.

The power sector, adds WWF, could cut its carbon dioxide emissions by more than half, with more investment in renewable energies, combined heat and power generation and consumer energy conservation.

“Renewable energy sources, such as biomass, wind and sustainable hydro, have the potential to grow from today’s 1.8 percent per year to 6.10 percent. Greenhouse gas emissions not related to energy consumption can also be reduced by 33 percent, mainly in the agricultural and waste sectors,” the report says.

“The European Climate Change Programme is crucial for the development of coherent and ambitious actions for the EU in the coming years. But to be successful, it should provide a clear strategy on how to achieve 30 percent greenhouse gas reduction by 2020,” Jean-Philippe Denruyter, WWF’s climate policy officer, told IPS.

WWF says a climate-friendlier Europe will bring the EU huge benefits, including less reliance on foreign sources of energy, cost savings for all sectors of the economy, reduced health costs due to lower pollution and more job opportunities in the fields of renewable energies and energy conservation.

“Achieving this goal is not about available technologies, it is about making strong and determined decisions. With ambitious policies, a strong emission trading system and mandatory targets for energy efficiency and renewable energies, Europe will become an efficient, secure and environmentally safe place to live and to do business,” Oliver Rapf, head of WWF’s European climate and energy unit, said Monday.

WWF is urging the EU to adopt a “comprehensive climate policy strategy with a strong emissions trading system at its heart”, supported by directives that promote mandatory targets for energy efficiency as well as legal and fiscal support to renewable energies.

“The EU must take the lead and grasp the technical, political and economic opportunities to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by one-third by 2020. This will work towards global efforts to keep the world’s average temperature less than two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and will help the EU to renew and intensify its leadership in international climate change negotiations,” added Rapf.