When meeting in March, European environment ministers must decide on a timeline for swift ratification of the Paris deal, and on a pathway to bring the EU in line with its Paris pledge. Europe must take charge and not allow its reputation to shift from climate champion to climate slacker.
COP21: Arc de Triomphe Sun Action in Paris © Greenpeace
The Paris Agreement is a historic climate deal that signals the end of the fossil fuel era. For the first time countries have submitted plans to reduce their carbon footprint and agreed to keep the global temperatures increase to well below 2°C, pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.5°C. But countries’ commitments fall significantly short of the agreed Paris targets, leading to roughly 3°C warming.
"Now, what has been promised must be delivered", said EU climate and energy Commissioner Arias Cañete after the Paris deal was agreed. However, a leaked Commission’s paper meant to evaluate the consequences of the Paris agreement for the EU, including the 1.5°C ambition, shows that the Commission instead sticks to its current policies and 2030 targets based on a 2°C scenario.
For the EU to claim global leadership in the fight against climate change, whilst pursuing low ambition at home, suggests a lack of integrity.
So, what should the EU do to conform to the Paris agreement and remain a global climate champion?
As a start, it needs to align its policy review process to the five-year review cycles established by the COP21 climate deal.
Then, it needs to increase its 2050 objective to at least 95 percent greenhouse gas reductions, as well as readjusting the 2020 and 2030 greenhouse gas, renewable and energy efficiency targets in line with the globally agreed 1.5°C limit.
Without these changes, the EU risks undermining the global climate agreement. And these changes should be initiated now, so that when it returns to the negotiating table in 2 years’ time to present its efforts to fulfil its Paris pledge, the EU does not go empty-handed.
These adjustments would have positive effects besides ensuring that the EU remains a climate champion. To begin with, the current 2030 renewables target currently set at 27 percent is far from ambitious. Greenpeace’s own energy [R]Evolution scenario shows that 45 percent is a cost-effective and achievable target, that will stimulate the economy, create new jobs and reduce import dependency. Increasing its renewable target ambition is a must for the EU which, although formerly a forerunner on renewables, has seen investments into the sector dropping significantly in recent years. Indeed, China is the new global wind power leader, its booming wind energy market grew 27 percent in 2015 edging past Europe for the first time.
Graph 1: EU renewable energy investments ($ Bn)
Adjusting the EU’s climate and energy target alone will not guarantee a swift, cost-effective and fair transition. In the upcoming revision of the renewables and energy efficiency directive, the EU must set binding national targets or at least benchmarks, defining exactly what each government needs to do to fulfill the EU climate and energy targets.
Sebastian Mang is Greenpeace EU climate and energy policy assistant