NGOs slate European Council deal on climate package
12-Dec-08
A coalition of environmental groups including Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace and WWF has "condemned as a failure" an agreement by EU leaders on how much effort each Member State will have to make to meet EU greenhouse gas reduction targets.
The proposed EU Decision on what used to be called "burden sharing" on GHG cuts but is now known as "effort sharing" applies to sectors such as transport, housing, schools and agriculture that are not covered by the EU emissions trading scheme (EUETS). The efforts of these sectors will be shared out between the Member States, with each making a different contribution.
At a meeting in Brussels yesterday and today, EU leaders agreed that these sectors will be allowed to meet two-thirds of their GHG reductions through the purchase of carbon credits for projects outside the EU, instead of through real emission reductions at home. They also rejected the idea of fines to force Member States to meet their national targets.
The meeting also decided that the proposed EU Directive for revising the EUETS will grant large manufacturers full exemption from the requirement to buy allowances. NGOs blamed pressure from Poland, which is heavily reliant on coal, for awarding the power sector exemptions from having to pay for allowances in auctions.
Regarding the proposed Directive on carbon capture and storage (CCS), EU leaders rejected the idea of limiting the amount of carbon dioxide that fossil fuel power plants can emit, thus failing to compel them fit CCS technology. NGOs said the decision was a particular "failure" because the EUETS will now be "too weak to guarantee emissions cuts".
The Confederation of British Industry welcomed the deal because it gives businesses greater certainty that carbon markets have a long-term role. But it said that while extending auctioning to more firms will incentivise low-carbon investment, the leaders had been "unnecessarily cautious" in this respect.
MEPs are due to vote on the package on 17 December.
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