Climate: 30% emissions target would favour EU economic growth, says Environment Committee

The EU would be acting in its own economic interest if it raised its 2020 CO2 reduction target to 30%, says Parliament's Environment Committee in a resolution, approved on Tuesday, which also highlights climate aid commitments to developing countries as critical to progress in upcoming international talks in Cancún, Mexico.

The resolution - adopted by the Environment Committee with 35 votes in favour, 20 against and 1 abstention - sets out the committee's position ahead of UN climate talks in Cancún, Mexico (29 November - 10 December). Parliament as a whole is expected to vote on the resolution later this month.

"If the EU is not a leader in climate protection, it will be a loser in economic growth. The EU needs to act in its own interest by stepping up to a 30% reductions target, and in favour of vulnerable developing countries by respecting its financial commitments towards them. Today's Environment Committee resolution points out that a global warming target below 1.5°C, not just below 2°C is needed", said Environment Committee chair Jo Leinen (S&D, DE).

30% less CO2 = more economic growth

The resolution states that setting a target to reduce CO2 emissions by 30% by 2020 (based on 1990 levels) is "in the interest of the future economic growth of the European Union". The EU position has hitherto linked a 30% target more closely to conditions (such as an international agreement being in place), than to the benefits that the EU can reap from steering its economy away from fossil fuels and towards green alternatives.

Developing countries

The EU must fulfil its responsibilities, together with the rest of the industrialised world, vis-à-vis developing countries, stress MEPs. On a critical issue for Cancún, MEPs call on EU Member States to make good on their €7.2 billion pledge of "fast-start" financing to help developing countries adapt to - and mitigate - the effects of climate change. By 2020, the EU should contribute €30 billion per year (additional to other overseas development aid) towards a global climate fund, they add.

Forests

Forests are critical to climate because of their capacity to absorb carbon dioxide, say MEPs, who call on the EU to support "REDD+", an update to an initiative that is designed to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. But tighter definitions of forests are needed to ensure funding is not sidetracked to commercial plantations, they add.