European Council agrees on ambitious CO2 reduction target

Peter Liese: Important signal for international negotiations, but a lot of work for Parliament and Commission regarding renewables and efficiency / Common market can lower costs and dependency from Russia

 

"The target of at least 40% CO2 reduction until 2030 on which the EU heads of states agreed yesterday evening is ambitious and will bring forward international climate negotiations," said Peter Liese, spokesperson for environment of the largest political group in the European Parliament (EPP-Christian Democrats).

Europe proofed again its leading role in climate protection despite huge difficulties and will give the right impulses for the Paris 2015 climate

conference.

One important thing is that the targets have to be reached through domestic measures within the EU and not through so-called flexible mechanisms in third countries like China or India which are sometimes very questionable.

"Furthermore, it is very important that heads of states committed themselves unanimously to a strengthening of the ETS trough a market stability reserve", Liese said.

However, the agreed targets for renewables and efficiency are too weak for Liese." 27% renewables and 27% efficiency are not really ambitious. In times where we need to become more independent from Russia we would have needed much more ambitious targets. Luckily, Council introduced "at least". That gives room for manoeuvre to Parliament and Commission to raise the level of ambition in the coming years. Through ambitious targets we can create a common market for renewables as well as for efficient products. That would lower costs for consumers. The formulation that Council can draw issues in the usual legislative process to itself again and again is at the border to what is permissible following the European treaties. I am very sure that new Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and the European Parliament will not accept any cut of their responsibility in co-decision", Liese concluded.