Where do we go from Copenhagen?
[ added 19 January, 2010 ]
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The Spanish EU presidency hosted an informal climate and energy Council of ministers in Seville last week end. Discussions focused on possible ways to kick-start economic recovery. Energy efficiency and renewable energies are seen as focal areas to encourage recovery in the EU.
Nearly one month after the climate talks in Copenhagen, the EU climate and energy ministers came together last weekend in Seville to discuss the outcome of COP15 and to brain storm on an EU 2010-2014 energy action plan. Key points of discussion were the strong need to modernise the European energy supply and to finance and encourage the development of new energy technologies. Potential alternative energies analysed by the European Strategic Energy Technology Plan include solar, thermal-solar and photovoltaic energy as well as wind power on land and sea.
The ministers further discussed the report lying down the foundations for an EU energy action 2010-11, which emphasis namely the need for interconnecting national grids in order to achieve sustainable supply of clean and renewable energy throughout Europe.
How much to cut then?
As hinted already since the less than satisfying outcome of COP15, the EU ministers reaffirmed that the European Union, which accounts for 14% of the world’s CO2 emissions, is unlikely to commit to the 30% carbon emissions cuts claimed before the meeting in Copenhagen until other countries show greater willingness to follow suit.
BeyondHFCs, like Greenpeace, does not consider the current level of 20% emissions reductions as sufficient. This is supported by the fact that the United Nations have also called upon wealthy countries to cut emissions by 25-40% until 2050 in order to keep the global temperature raise below two degrees Celsius.
BeyondHFCs has always advocated courageous commitment to reducing carbon emissions, pointing out that viable alternatives exist. The total phase-out of HFCs and their replacement by natural refrigerants such as CO2, hydrocarbons and ammonia that have a negligibly low GWP can make a huge impact in this respect.
Next steps
The Copenhagen Accord, which does not mention any long-term provisions for emissions reductions until 2050 nor specifies any medium-term targets beyond 2020, foresees countries to submit carbon reduction pledges by the end of January 2010.
In the meantime, Ms Conie Hedegaard, commissioner designate for climate action, has expressed her hope to see the EU agreeing on 30% emission cuts before COP16 in Mexico at the end of this year.
