The European Parliament’s Environment Committee voted today on the revision of the Effort Sharing Regulation (ESR), which covers emissions from transport, waste, buildings and agriculture, for the coming decade.
The Committee proposed improvements to the original draft by the European Commission. According to Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe however, much more still needs to be done to align the EU’s climate policy with its international commitment under the Paris Agreement.
The Committee voted in favour of aligning the starting point for emission reductions with real emission levels. It also suggested to limit the loophole that allow countries to use offsets from the forestry sectors to meet their ESR target (while putting forward a new loophole in a form of an “early action reserve”). The Committee’s proposal would result in almost 400 million tonnes less emissions compared to the Commission’s proposal, which is equal to annual emissions from around 380 million cars.
Commenting on the results of the vote, Wendel Trio, Director of CAN Europe said:
“MEPs took a step in the right direction to make this policy work for the climate. The proposal to set a starting point which better reflects actual emissions is the single most important measure to increase ambition when the end target is set too low. Still, without a much more ambitious climate policy for reducing emissions in the transport, buildings, agriculture and waste sectors the EU will not fulfil its commitments under the Paris Agreement. Strengthening the Effort Sharing Regulation would also be an opportunity for boosting the economy, creating better jobs and a more sustainable and prosperous future for everyone in Europe.”
The new Effort Sharing Regulation will now be discussed by the EU Environment Ministers meeting in Brussels on 19th June. They are likely to reach an agreement on their position then. The Parliament’s plenary is scheduled to vote on its position before the summer break. Then the proposal will be negotiated in the so-called trialogue process among the EU institutions.
ENDS
Contacts:
Wendel Trio, CAN Europe Director, wendel@caneurope.org, +32 473 170 887
Ania Drazkiewicz, CAN Europe Communications Coordinator, ania@caneurope.org, +32 494 525 738
Notes:
Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe is Europe’s largest coalition working on climate and energy issues. With over 130 member organisations in more than 30 European countries – representing over 44 million citizens – CAN Europe works to prevent dangerous climate change and promote sustainable climate and energy policy in Europe.
