As a member of the European Parliament's Environment Committee Glenis Willmott is involved in helping to tackle what is arguably the greatest challenge we face in the 21st century - climate change.

The challenge of climate change

Dealing with climate change encompasses many policy areas, notably energy, transport, security and development. The evidence that human activities are primarily responsible for climate change is now irrefutable. Evidence suggests that temperatures could rise by up to 6.4°C by the end of this century and the knock on effects of this would include rising sea levels, rising frequency of high temperature extremes, an increase in both flooding and droughts as well as more intense tropical storms.
 
What is the EU doing?

The challenge of climate change is clearly one that has to be tackled at global level. However, a key component of this is the action we can take within the EU.

On environmental policy at EU level, the European Parliament enjoys what is known as 'co-decision'. This means that when the European Commission proposes new legislation, the Parliament and the Council (made up of Ministers from the Member States) have to jointly accept, amend or reject the proposals.  As your elected representatives, Labour MEPs play a crucial role and are at the forefront of the fight against climate change at the European level.
Labour MEPs fully support the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and its Kyoto Protocol and recognise the need for an effective replacement agreement when this expires in 2012.   However, action taken through the European Union is often both more effective and more achievable for a variety of reasons.

First, in order to meet our obligations arising from international agreements, action is far more effective when taken and coordinated with our fellow European neighbours.

Second, through initiatives and action at the European level, an example can be set to the rest of the world by putting concrete measures into place and therefore leading by action, rather than just words. Additionally, as our European neighbours are generally as environmentally minded as the UK this enables stronger and more effective measures to be put in place without deals being watered down as can be the case in international agreements.

Finally, shared research and development of low carbon technologies is more effective and cost-effective at EU level.
 
As the Stern report highlighted, the dangers of unabated climate change will be equivalent to at least 5% of global GDP each year and could possibly rise to 20% or more. The report also revealed that the costs of action to avoid the worst impacts of climate change would amount to just 1% of global GDP per year. Moreover, through the European Union, there exists a real chance for Europe to emerge as a world leader in carbon technologies and this is a growing market which should not be underestimated. Markets for low carbon technologies could be worth at least 0 billion globally by 2050. We should not assume that combating climate change is economically damaging - in fact it is quite the opposite and makes financial sense.
 
EU action

The European Union is taking practical action.  In a 2007 summit of EU leaders in Brussels there emerged an historic agreement to reduce the EU's carbon emissions unilaterally by at least 20% below 1990 levels and aim for a reduction of 30% if an agreement can be reached internationally.   Another important agreement was to increase the share of renewable energies in Europe's energy mix to at least 20% by 2020 and introduce a 10% minimum target for the use of biofuels in transport. These targets required practical instruments and initiatives to ensure they could be met and this is where the European Parliament has played its part. Following lengthy negotiations, MEPs were able to jointly agree, with national governments, a climate change package in December 2008 to implement these ambitious targets.

The emissions trading scheme

The cornerstone of the package is the Emissions Trading Scheme which is the largest multi-country, multi-sector Greenhouse Gas scheme for trading emissions in the world.   It is also the first system of its kind and limits the level of greenhouse gases that heavy industry can emit.   It encourages industry to reduce its emissions in the most cost effective way.   When one company has reduced its CO2 emissions below its target, they can then trade their excess quota for a profit to a company that finds it more difficult or costly to reduce its own emissions.

The current system covers about 45% of all CO2 emissions in the EU. While the scheme already applies to heavy industry, Labour MEPs voted to bring aviation into the scheme as from 2011 and perhaps other forms of transport such as shipping will be included at a later date.   Although the principle behind the ETS is sound, there have been substantial problems in the initial phase of the scheme which undoubtedly needed rectifying. Therefore in December MEPs decided on the rules for the next period of Emission Trading from 2012 onwards. The major points agreed were as follows:

• A Harmonised and decreasing cap to deliver the 20% reduction target (or 30% in the event of an international agreement in Copenhagen at the end of 2009)

• Increased levels of auctioning of emission permits to maintain a high price

• A tougher, strengthened way of calculating how permits are allocated which means even those sectors in receipt of free allowances will not get all the allowances they need.

• A 50% limit on the amount of emission reductions that can be offset through schemes which cut emissions in the developing world.
Emissions of CO2 from cars

At the same time as agreeing the changes to the ETS, the European Parliament also agreed proposals to limit emissions of CO2 from cars as follows:

• The most important aspect is 2012 target of 130g and a 2020 target of 95g of CO2 per kilometre travelled. The later target will mean a 60% reduction in CO2 emissions compared with present levels.

• Sanctions for failing to comply with the targets will be gradually phased in and by 2019 a tough penalty system will be in place with all excess grams costing manufacturers 95 euros.

Promoting carbon capture and storage

The December package also included an agreement to promote carbon capture and storage - a cutting-edge technology which reduces atmospheric emissions of carbon dioxide that result from various industrial processes, in particular the burning of fossil fuels in power generation.   It does this by storing the CO2 safely away in deep geological formations or under deep oceans. The European Parliament vote in favour of:
• New legal and safety conditions for CCS

• All new power plants must be capture-ready so they can be retrofitted with the technology once it is commercially viable.

• A review which will examine the feasibility of introducing emission limits for new power plants.

Renewables and biofuels
 
On the renewables and biofuels targets MEPs were acutely aware of concerns surrounding the sustainability of biofuels and their environmental and social impacts. The December package took these concerns into account and provided for:
• Second-generation biofuels to be counted as double for meeting target.

• Strict environmental and social sustainability criteria (with a 50% greenhouse gas saving requirement from 2017)

• The European Commission to report by 2010 on a methodology for including the impact of biofuels on indirect land use in the sustainability criteria.

• A review in 2014 of the use of biofuels and should there be a negative impact, the 10% target in transport can be modified.
 

Other measures

Other measures that had previously been adopted by the Parliament include the prohibition of the most potent fluorinated gases from use in air-conditioning systems.
 

Nationally

At the national level, Glenis strongly supports the Labour Government's groundbreaking Climate Change Bill, which will go a long way to ensuring that the UK meets, and may even go beyond its EU and international commitments.   Just as the EU is leading the way on the world stage, so the UK is ahead in Europe and we should be proud of this.

Links  

European Commission pages on Climate Change

Stern Report

DEFRA Climate change pages