The European Commission proposes to amend European climate policy
Brussels, October 21, 2017 – The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, proposed introducing amendments to some of the European Union’s climate policies, within the framework of the administrative simplification programme, stressing in a letter addressed to the Union’s leaders that these changes will not affect Brussels’ commitment to clean technologies and combating climate change.
The message came on the eve of EU leaders discussing the path to reducing emissions after 2030 during their summit Thursday in Brussels, and ahead of a meeting of environment ministers in Luxembourg.
Von der Leyen pointed out the possibility of reducing the goal of reducing emissions by 90% by 2040 by using more international credits, which means financing emissions reductions in other countries and counting them among the Union’s achievements, stressing that the national goal could be lower provided that it is compensated by a similar, highly reliable reduction outside the Union.
She also stressed that setting the target will be followed by flexible implementation that takes into account national circumstances and is based on technology neutrality. Von der Leyen called for allowing industries that are difficult to decarbonize to use carbon capture and storage technologies to comply with the emissions reduction path, and also opened the door to the use of “advanced biofuels” in cars, in addition to evaluating the future of this fuel after 2030.
Regarding the new carbon emissions pricing system known as “ETS2,” von der Leyen confirmed that the Commission will work on new proposals to avoid high and volatile prices, noting the possibility of using future revenues immediately to mitigate the economic impact on European families.
At the same time, it stressed its adherence to the market-based approach as the best way to modernize the relevant sectors. It also reaffirmed the need to reduce energy prices in the short term, considering that electrification must be at the heart of the Union’s goals related to competition and climate security, and called on European capitals to reduce taxes imposed on electricity.
At the conclusion of her message, von der Leyen stressed that innovation is the way to enhance European competitiveness, and that the success of simplification efforts requires coordination between national, regional and local authorities, considering that clean technologies represent a major commercial opportunity that requires continuous commitment to confront global competitors.
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