The EU and Climate Change

Climate change is the greatest environmental, social and economic threat facing the planet today, and which will have major implications on our lives.

Human activities like the burning of fossil fuels, agriculture and deforestation, are mainly responsible for climate change (some examples... ).

Global warming has serious consequences for humanity and the world we live in. These include a rise in sea levels, increased severity of extreme weather conditions, and the extinction of animal species.

In particular, global warming has serious consequences for the EU. Estimates of GDP losses under a 2.5^o rise in global temperatures and a 6^o rise, suggest losses of 3% and 12.5% of EU GDP respectively.

Current world emissions targets aim at limiting the global temperature rise to only 2^o, which would minimise the impact of climate change on the EU.

It is worth pointing out that the effect of increasing the overall temperature of the world is not simply to raise temperatures everywhere in a uniform way. Instead, temperatures will rise unevenly, and may even fall in some areas. Similarly, 'global warming' doesn't mean a universal reduction in rainfall (we tend to think 'cool, wet' and 'hot dry').

Some areas will experience an increase in rainfall, some a decrease, while others will experience only a change in the patterns of rainfall. For this reason, the term 'climate change' is preferred to 'global warming'.

The impacts on Europe will vary both in severity and in effect - the most obvious sector impacted is agriculture, but there will also be impacts on fishing, transport, infrastructure, and energy consumption.

Recent Developments: The 2010 and 2011 Climate Conferences and the EU's leading role in reaching agreement

2010 UN Climate Change Conference, Mexico

Expectations had been low going into the 2010 UN Climate Change Conference held in Cancún Mexico. It was felt that there was a lack of political will to establish a platform from which a legal, binding framework for tackling climate changes on a global scale could be made. A compromise was reached that reinforced the commitment made at Copenhagen for a Green Climate fund, towards which wealthier nations would provide up to US$ 100 billion a year by 2020 to assist poorer countries defend against damage caused by climate change. Questions remained over how this money would be raised however. The conference also ended with the expectation that there would be a further commitment period for the Kyoto Protocol due to expire in 2012. (More ... )

2011 UN Climate Change Conference, South Africa

While the 2010 conference left much work to do, it proved that the countries of the world could work constructively together and this gave some hope that the 'make or break' 2011 UN summit in Durban South Africa would yield some concrete steps towards tacking climate change.

With the nations of the world in agreement that serious action would be needed to avoid the worst impacts of global warming (keeping global temperature rise under 2C), there was a huge amount of pressure for the 2011 summit to deliver. While Europe had taken a leading role on Kyoto, the EU only accounts for 11% of global carbon emissions and so it was essential at Durban that other developed and rapidly developing nations followed the EU's lead by committing to talks on a legally binding agreement.

After two weeks of negotiations, the 195 Parties to the UN climate change convention agreed on a roadmap, proposed by the EU, for drawing up a legal framework by 2015 for climate action by all countries. The agreement reached in Durban represents a historic breakthrough in the fight against climate change. The EU insisted that it would only agree to a further commitment period for Kyoto if agreement could be reached with all countries on reaching a legal framework for curbing global emissions and this tough stance was vindicated with an unprecedented agreement. European Commissioner for Climate Action Connie Hedegaard was singled out for praise by delegates, stakeholders and media for her leadership and commitment to achieving this breakthrough.

The Durban conference agreed that there will be a second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol, made operational the new Green Climate Fund for developing countries and approved a series of measures which built on the progress made at the previous year’s Cancun conference.

Commissioner Hedegaard stated that, "The EU’s strategy worked. When many parties after Cancún said that Durban could only implement decisions taken in Copenhagen and Cancún, the EU wanted more ambition and got more. We would not take a new Kyoto period unless we got in return a roadmap for the future where all countries must commit. Where the Kyoto Protocol divides the world into two categories, we will now get a system that reflects the reality of the today’s mutually interdependent world. And as we are interdependent, what we promise to do must have the same legal weight. With the agreement on a roadmap towards a new legal framework by 2015 that will involve all countries in combating climate change, the EU has achieved its key goal for the Durban climate conference". (More ...)

According to the new EU Climate Change and Energy Package, Ireland's target is to reduce CO2 emissions by 20% and to increase renewables by 16%. The main policies implemented by Ireland are:

•  National Climate Change Strategy (2007-2012) : it provides a framework for action to reduce Ireland's greenhouse gas emissions. The main points are:

-    Energy: source 15% of electricity from renewable energy by 2010, and 33% by 2020. Participation of large plants in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme
-    Travel: expansion and improvement of public transport. Increase the use of bio-fuels to 5.75% of all fuels by 2010
-    Homes and workplaces: higher energy conservation standards for new buildings; better thermal performance; grant schemes to support switch to renewable energy; switch from traditional to energy-efficient light bulbs
-    Business and industry: low carbon technologies
-    Agriculture and forestry: targeting further reductions through improved environmental management on farms, with reduced fertilizer use and better manure management
-    Waste management: expansion of schemes in support of waste prevention, minimisation, reuse and recycling will be expanded
-    Public sector: achieve energy savings of 33%; switch to bio-fuels for public sector vehicles; offset of emissions for official air travel by Government Ministers.

•  National Allocation Plan 2008-2012 : Greenhouse gas emissions projections were reviewed and updated inn preparation for the second phase of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme for the Kyoto Protocol Commitment Period (2008 - 2012).

The Government has agreed on how the responsibility for bridging this gap will be shared between the Emissions Trading Sector (the 109 installations in the electricity and large industry sectors which have significant emissions) and the rest of the economy.

The Trading Sector will meet about 3 million tonnes of the reduction, leaving about 4 million for the rest of the economy.