Europe’s heads of government today prepared their joint position for the next round of international climate talks with Friends of the Earth Europe warning the agreement falls way below the scale of emission reductions needed and includes a dangerous over-reliance on carbon markets.
The EU Council in Brussels adopted a common negotiating position to take to the crucial UN climate talks in Cancun, Mexico which begin in four weeks.
The EU’s long standing pledge to cut emissions by 20% by 2020 was reiterated by the meeting. It represents little more than a ‘business as usual’ scenario and falls far short of the cuts of at least 40% in domestic emissions that are needed to avoid catastrophic climate change, according to Friends of the Earth Europe.
EU leaders endorsed recommendations by Europe’s Environment Ministers to use the Cancun summit to push for the expansion of carbon markets. This will undermine these targets further, opening up loopholes that could potentially counteract the entire effort to reduce emissions in developed countries. Over-reliance on carbon markets is also obstructing the use of other more effective policy measures such as regulation, investments, and taxation.
David Heller, climate justice campaigner for Friends of the Earth Europe said: “Europe must end its reliance on carbon markets which are failing to solve the climate crisis. Expanding the flawed mechanism that is carbon trading is simply an escape hatch for rich industrialised countries and could create a global speculative bubble in carbon trading – a double whammy of financial and environmental disaster. Carbon trading and international offsets must not replace binding emissions reductions and new public money to enable developing countries to cope with the impacts of climate change and develop sustainably.”
Business attempts to undermine effective European action on climate change are being exposed by the Worst EU Lobbying Awards 2010. www.worstlobby.eu
***
Notes:
Friends of the Earth Europe’s briefing ‘The EU Emissions Trading System; failing to deliver’ is online here.
The nominees in the climate category of the Worst EU Lobbying Awards 2010 are:
BusinessEurope: Nominated for its aggressive lobbying to block effective climate action in the EU while claiming to support action to protect the climate
ArcelorMittal: Steel industry fat cat, nominated for lobbying on CO2 cuts under the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) and profiting from free ETS emission permits
RWE: Nominated for claiming to be green while lobbying to keep its dirty coal-and oil-fired power plants open.
Corporate influence over governments is blocking desperately needed measures to stop the worsening of the climate crises. Members of the public can vote online at www.worstlobby.eu
