Summary: Opening Speech on Climate Change by Stavros Dimas, Commissioner of the European Commission, responsible for Environment at G8 + 5 Legislator's Forum (EP, Brussels: 7 July 2006)
Mr. and Mrs. Chairmen,
Honourable Members of the European Parliament and of legislative assemblies from the G8 + 5 countries,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is a great pleasure to have the opportunity to address the G8 + 5 Legislator's Forum. Let me thank GLOBE International for organising this important event, which is very timely in view of next week's G8 Summit in St Petersburg. I would also like to welcome the numerous representatives from business and NGOs, whose presence makes this Forum a truly multi-stakeholder process.
The World Meteorological Organisation recently issued a report indicating that concentrations of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are at their highest levels ever. There are many concrete signs that this is already having consequences for climate and nature. The Artic ice is melting at an alarming rate. Last September, the ice cap had retreated a record 250 km north of Alaska. If this continues, there may be no ice at all during the summer of 2060. In this morning's edition of "Le Soir", we can read of the Greenland ice disappearing much faster than expected. With glaciers moving 2500 metres per year instead of 300 there is a real possibility that the impact of climate change will be far worse than even our more radical models.
The economic impacts are also vast. The Association of British Insurers estimates that, by 2080, insured losses from hurricanes in the US alone could reach US$ 100-150 billion a year. And the changing climate will radically modify the basis for many of our core economic activities, such as agriculture, energy production and transport.
The scientific debate about the human causes of climate change is largely settled. Yet there remains an important gap between climate science and the global policy response. We cannot afford such gap. I believe there is now a window of opportunity to mobilise the world's key leaders in favour of an alliance against climate change. There is a high level of consensus on the need to act. Views still diverge on the adequate policy and approach, but few still doubt the need for a global response to climate change.
The EU is ready to engage in an open and constructive dialogue with all partners and major emitting countries. We must seize this opportunity and together provide a forward looking strategy for the future climate co-operation post-2012.
The EU will deliver on its climate policy and target of an 8% reduction in emissions of greenhouse gases. By 2004, the EU had cut its emissions by 1%. With the additional measures planned in the second phase of the European Climate Change Programme, we should meet our 8% target, and maybe even overshoot it. This should be compared to significant emission increases in many parts of the world, including the US.
With a share of only 14% in global greenhouse gas emissions, the EU can not resolve the problem on its own. But we are determined to demonstrate that pro-active climate polices give results, and that they do not endanger economic growth.
EU leadership rests on concrete action at home.
The EU emissions trading scheme is a good case in point. It covers close to 11,500 installations, responsible for almost half of EU CO2 emissions. EU emission trading shows that market based mechanisms are a workable climate instrument.
Its impact reaches far beyond Europe. Trading across the EU has kick-started the global carbon market. Through its link with the Kyoto mechanisms, the scheme is mobilising capital for clean investments around the world. Recent business estimates tell us that there is demand for credits of over 2 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent by 2012. Already during the first trading phase, EU Member States will invest at least € 2.7 billion in emission reduction projects in other parts of the world.
There will also be new initiatives to strengthen EU climate policy. In December, the Commission will review its approach to reduce CO2 emissions from cars, and around the same time, the Commission will put forward a legislative proposal to include the aviation sector into EU emission trading. The Commission is also exploring options for a legal framework to allow the safe capture and underground storage of CO2 from industrial installations as well as measures on adaptation, helping the EU to deal with the increasingly evident impacts of climate change.
The EU remains the main donor of development aid, with a large share for environmental protection and climate change. From the EU budget alone, some 1.5 billion € target climate-related projects in developing countries. To this one should add assistance from the Member States, funding from the European Investment Bank and assistance channelled through the UN. A good example is the fund for developing countries set up by the Bonn Declaration, for which the EU and its Member States contribute 370 million dollars out of the total 410.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I believe there is a new momentum in the international debate on climate change. The Montreal Climate Change Conference in December last year took many important decisions, but will be remembered most of all for the start of a dialogue on global action to tackle climate change post-2012. Two tracks will be followed, one under the Kyoto Protocol and the other under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. The first round of these discussions started in May this year in Bonn.
The EU goes into these discussions with an open mind, seeking to engage industrialised and developing countries, without prescribing to our partners what the answers should be. But to make progress, we need to set out concrete ideas on how the future climate co-operation could look like. I would like to share some thoughts with you today on this matter.
Meeting the climate challenge requires efforts to reduce global emissions by the widest possible group of industrialised countries and major developing nations. We of course expect the United States - as the world's main emitter of greenhouse gases with levels well above 1990 - to take strong and resolute action on climate change, and I believe there are encouraging signs on the other side of the Atlantic. Let me welcome the participation of senators Craig, Biden, Boxer and Jeffords in this dialogue. I am also pleased that senators Mc Cain and Lieberman joined the G8 +5 Forum this morning.
For developing countries, many interesting ideas are being considered that I believe can be part of the solution. Many developing countries are increasingly pursuing sustainable development policies which also benefit climate change. Likewise, climate policies and efforts to curb the increase of carbon emissions can provide a basis for rapid economic growth through the transfer and deployment of clean technologies. The recent informal Ministerial meeting in South Africa on the future of climate action emphasised the potential of this approach.
China, for instance, recently adopted its 11th Five-Year blueprint. In this programme it sets the target of reducing China's energy intensity by 20 percent by 2010. I take this opportunity to welcome the high-level delegation from the National People's Congress to this G8 + 5 event in Brussels.
Brazil has made large investments in its production of biofuels, initially to reduce its dependence on imported fossil fuel, but is now reaping the broader sustainable development benefits of these investments. India has embarked on an ambitious programme of rural electrification. Research shows the tremendous economic and environmental benefits if India's rural electrification programme were implemented using renewable energy.
Still, by 2015, CO2 emissions from developing countries will exceed those from the OECD and are likely to continue to grow.
The market needs to provide robust incentives to develop and deploy climate-friendly technologies. Without a price on carbon, there is a risk that clean technologies remain on the shelf. In the EU's view, market-based mechanisms will need to play a key role in the future international climate system. They harness the creativity of the business sector, offer incentives to cut emissions and reduce compliance costs. The EU will explore how best to expand the emerging carbon market and make it truly global. EU emission trading could constitute the first basis of a global market, expanded to new countries, to other greenhouse gases and to new sectors. This is why a well functioning EU emission trading is vital to how the global carbon market evolves in the future.
(Another approach which I think it is worth to have a closer look at is sector-based policies. Such policies could set the framework for a contribution of specific industry sectors across the globe, including in developing countries, to the climate change challenge. This could include providing market-based incentives for the sector concerned or, alternatively, setting global energy efficiency targets.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
There are many ways we can co-operate to combat climate change. The EU remains committed to multilateral negotiations in the context of the UNFCCC. But we are ready to be innovative as to how we engage other countries. Last year, the EU agreed a number of ground-breaking new partnerships, notably with China and India. Much work has already been done to implement these. This includes cooperation on practical solutions to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy. The Commission and the UK are also funding the first phase of work on a demonstration near-zero emission coal-fired power plant in China, using carbon capture and storage technology.
At this month's G8 Summit in St Petersburg, world leaders will discuss energy security and demand, in view of strengthening co-operation in this area. The energy debate is central to climate policy. The International Energy Agency pointed to the fact that over the coming 25 years investments into the energy sector alone will require at least US$ 17 trillion. This new investment is a huge opportunity for deploying clean and climate-friendly technologies.
The G8, but also EU energy policy, must balance concerns for energy supply and competitiveness with climate concerns. The Gleaneagles Action Plan must be brought forward. Energy efficiency is central to a responsible energy policy. It provides important economic and environmental benefits. To support this, the Commission will put forward an Action Plan on Energy Efficiency, with concrete measures allowing the EU to save 20% of its projected energy consumption by 2020.
Our drive for more renewable energy must continue. EU head of state and government recently proposed to raise the share of renewable energy in the EU to 15% and the proportion of biofuels to 8% by 2015. There will also be new measures on biomass and biofuels.
Winning the battle against climate change concerns us all. The necessary scale of global action to fight climate change can only be delivered if national legislators put in place the necessary policy framework and the right priorities are set for public spending. You as legislators play an eminent role in this.
I am very grateful that this G8 + 5 Climate Change Dialogue in partnership with the World Bank is trying to fill a long-recognised gap in international negotiations. I encourage you to forward your concrete proposals to next week's St. Petersburg Summit. However, your ideas should not only strengthen the message of our G8 Leaders, but we should also discuss them in Mexico City in early October when the G20 Environment and Energy Ministers gather for the 2nd Gleneagles Dialogue.
And just to underline, the time of theoretical debates about climate change is over, we need practical and effective actions. The more concrete your proposals will be, the greater the chance that they will fall on fertile ground. The Commission is ready to listen to the G8 + 5 dialogue.
Thank you.
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