5. CLIMATE CHANGE: REDUCING COMMUNITY
GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS
(24111)
15650/02
COM (02)702
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Commission Report under Council Decision 93/389/EEC, as amended by Decision 99/296/EC, for a monitoring mechanism of Community greenhouse gas emissions.
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| Legal base: | —
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| Document originated: | 9 December 2002
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| Deposited in Parliament: | 18 December 2002
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| Department: | Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
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| Basis of consideration: | EM of 24 January 2003
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| Previous Committee Report: | None, but see footnotes
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| To be discussed in Council: | No date set
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| Committee's assessment: | Politically important
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| Committee's decision: | Cleared
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Background
5.1 In order to meet the environmental challenges presented
by global warming, the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change (UNFCCC) requires industrialised countries to
return their emissions of greenhouse gases by the year 2000 to
the levels obtaining in 1990. However, at their first meeting,
the Parties to the Convention recognised that further action was
needed beyond 2000, and the 1997 Kyoto Protocol set legally binding
emission targets for industrialised countries to meet by 2012.
The Community has undertaken to reduce its 1990 emission levels
by 8% by the period 2008-2012, with reductions by individual Member
States being apportioned under the Burden Sharing Agreement (see
Annex I).
The current document
5.2 This document is the third report from the Commission
assessing actual and projected progress of Member States and the
Community towards the Kyoto targets, the first two having been
produced in March 2000[18]
and December 2001[19]
respectively. The current report covers actual emissions between
1990 and 2000, and projections to 2010, based on information provided
by the Member States. It shows that, between 1990 and 2000, greenhouse
gas emissions across the Community overall fell by 3.5%. However,
this was due largely to reductions in Germany and the UK, and,
between 1999 and 2000, Community emissions of carbon dioxide rose
by 0.5% and those for the basket of greenhouse gases by 0.3%.
This development is described by the Commission as too early to
interpret as a trend reversal, and it says that it should rather
be seen as representing "a slight deviation" in an overall
downward trend in carbon dioxide emissions, mainly due to a rise
in coal use in electricity production and continuing increases
in transport-related emissions.
5.3 The report also says that projections to 2010 on
the basis of policies and measures currently implemented and adopted
suggest that, with the exception of Germany, the UK and Sweden,
most Member States are still well below their Kyoto target paths,
and may not meet their targets under the burden sharing agreement
unless additional action is taken. More specifically, it says
that these projections suggest an overall decrease of 4.7% in
Community emissions by 2010, leaving a shortfall of 3.3% on the
Kyoto targets. Moreover, this includes the expected over-delivery
by Germany, the UK and Sweden.
5.4 The report says that twelve Member States, including
the UK, have produced programmes identifying additional measures
which should ensure that they meet their targets, and that it
has been estimated that this would reduce overall Community emissions
in 2010 by 12% (i.e. by four percentage points more than the Kyoto
target). However, this assumes that Germany, the UK and Sweden
exceed their commitments under the Burden Sharing Agreement, and
the report comments that neither the Community nor other Member
States should rely on this. The other factor identified is that
Community-wide policies under the European Climate Change Programme
have the potential to produce additional emissions savings by
2010, but that actual savings will depend upon what is finally
agreed (and then implemented).
5.5 Finally, the Commission notes that reporting by Member
States on actual progress has improved, but that there are still
problems over the availability of updated projections, and with
data on savings from the additional policies and measures being
implemented. It says that future work for next year's report will
focus on obtaining better projections, refining indicators, and
in reconciling Community-wide projections with those produced
by Member States.
The Government's view
5.6 In his Explanatory Memorandum of 24 January 2003,
the Minister of State (Environment) at the Department for Environment,
Food and Rural Affairs (Mr Michael Meacher) says that the Government
welcomes the report as a useful signpost of the progress made,
and of the further action required if all Member States and the
Community are to meet their Kyoto targets. It is however concerned
that the Community should not rely on over-compliance by some
Member States — such as the UK, where it is estimated that
greenhouse gas emissions by 2010 could be 23% below their 1990
levels — to ensure that the overall target is met, and it
believes that the report's endorsement of this point will increase
the pressure to take action on those Member States in danger of
missing their targets.
Conclusion
5.7 This is an essentially factual report, which we
are clearing. It does nevertheless contain interesting information
about the progress to date of the Community and its Member States
in meeting their targets under the 1992 Framework Convention,
and more especially the prospects for achieving the targets for
2008-2012 agreed in the Kyoto Protocol (where we note the Community's
heavy reliance on the emission reductions projected by the UK,
Sweden and Germany).
ANNEX
Member States' commitments under the Community's Burden
Sharing Agreement
(percentage changes for 2008-2012 relative to 1990
emission levels)
Austria |
-13
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Belgium |
-7.5
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Denmark |
-21
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Finland |
0
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France |
0
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Germany |
-21
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Greece |
+25
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Ireland |
+13
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Italy |
-6.5
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Luxembourg |
-28
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Netherlands |
-6
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Portugal |
+27
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Spain |
+15
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Sweden |
+4
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UK |
-12.5
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18
(21092) 6914/00; see HC 23-xiv (1999-2000), paragraph 9 (12 April
2000). Back
19
(23035) 15047/01; see HC 152-xv (2001-02), paragraph 11 (30 January
2002). Back
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