Commission announces plans to make Europe the first low carbon economy
Wed 23 January 2008
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The European Commission has announced a far-reaching package of targets and measures aiming to cut EU emissions of greenhouse gases by at least 20% by 2020. The Commission says that the emissions reduction target will be increased to 30% by 2020 when a new global climate change agreement is reached. The announcement also confirms a specific 10% target for biofuels but with mandatory sustainability criteria.
The Commission President, José Manuel Barroso said that the proposals demonstrate that targets agreed last year are technologically and economically possible and that they provide a unique business opportunity for thousands of European companies. The measures are set to dramatically increase the use of renewable energy in each country and set legally enforceable targets for governments to achieve them. All major CO2 emitters will also be given an incentive to develop clean production technologies through a thorough reform of the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) that will impose an EU-wide cap on emissions.
On biofuels for transport, the Commission has confirmed a 10% target by 2020. The 10% target has been set at the same level for each member state in order, the Commission says, to ensure consistency in transport fuel specifications and availability. Member States which can not produce a sufficient amount of their own biofuels will be able to obtain product from elsewhere. The Commission says that while it would be technically possible for the EU to meet its biofuel needs solely from domestic production, it is both likely and desirable that these needs will in fact be met through domestic production and imports from outside the EU.
To counter concerns about the sustainability of biofuel production the Directive sets out stringent environmental sustainability criteria to ensure that biofuels contribute to overall environmental goals. Biofuels sold in the EU will have to achieve at least a minimum level of greenhouse gas savings of 35% compared with their fossil equivalent and will also have to meet other sustainability criteria. The reference date for land-use change is set at January 2008.
The Commission acknowledges that biofuels cost more than other forms of renewable energy and without a separate minimum target for them, they would not be developed. The Commission says that this matters because greenhouse gas trends are worst in transport, and biofuels are one of the few measures – alongside vehicle fuel efficiency – realistically capable of making a significant impact on emissions from the sector. In addition, the Commission says, oil dependence of the transport sector is the most serious security of supply problem of all.
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