EU Environment Council - Some steps in the right direction, but not enough conviction
[ added 18 March, 2010 ]
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The 27 Ministers for Environment gathered this week in Brussels to debate the EU strategy for environment and climate action in preparation of COP16 in Mexico at the end of this year.
Again the discussion focused on the European pledges of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 20% and their possible increase to 30%. The ministers requested the European Commission to assess the comparability and adequacy of greenhouse gas emission reductions offered by third countries as well as an impact assessment of the EU's conditional move to a 30% emissions cut.
The Mexican secretary of the environment Juan Rafael Elvira Quesada who assisted the Council said that the developing countries were waiting for a clear signal by the developed countries preceding the COP16 in Mexico. Whilst the main discussions in this respect evolve around the release of the promised 2.6 billion euro of first-start financial assistance, the Spanish Minister of Environment Elena Espinosa Mangana briefly mentioned technology transfer.
Also, the Ministers see the way forward in bilateral relations. These bilateral talks offer a good possibility for problem solving that developing countries are looking for by focusing for example on single sectors where huge emissions reductions potentials and technology to facilitate these reductions exist, e.g. the HVAC&R sector.
EU Commissioner for Climate Action Connie Hedegaard talked about “securing action at COP16 and ensuring specific deliverables from Mexico”.
The heating and cooling sector (HVAC&R) is estimated to account for 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 if business continues as usual. This sector should be targeted all the more so because solutions are available: instead of using HFC refrigerants with GWP of far above 1,000 there are market ready technologies relying on carbon dioxide, hydrocarbons and ammoniac as refrigerants which have a negligible GWP equal to 0 or up to 4. So why not go for a phase-out of the potent greenhouse gases that HFCs are and their replacement by natural refrigerants? That would be quite specific.
