13 International climate policy beyond
2020
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8193/13
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COM(13) 167
| Commission Communication: The 2015 International Climate Change Agreement — Shaping international climate change policy beyond 2020
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| Legal base | —
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| Department | Energy and Climate Change
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| Basis of consideration | See para 13.3 below
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| Previous Committee Report | HC 83-i (2013-14), chapter 7 (8 May 2013)
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| Discussion 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
13.1 In our Report of 8 May 2013, we drew to the attention
of the House this Commission Communication, which sought views
on the work needed to conclude by 2015 a new international agreement
to achieve a reduction in the growth in greenhouse gas emissions
needed to prevent a damaging rise in global temperatures, and
on the actions needed between now and 2020. In doing so, we noted
that the Government had pointed out that this was a consultative
document, and hence neither a proposal for legislation, nor an
agreed EU position; that it might inform, but not dictate, the
development of EU policy in this area; and that it did not significantly
contribute to the overall international debate (although the process
of stakeholder consultation initiated by it could be useful).
In the meantime, it took the view that the 2015 agreement must
be rules-based, legally binding, and applicable to all; that it
must avoid a repeat of the current emissions gap between the actions
taken and that needed to limit global temperature increases; that
measurement, reporting, and verification, and accounting rules,
remained of crucial importance and that it was imperative that
the new agreement should require all countries to have mitigation
commitments.
13.2 We commented that such an agreement would
be an important milestone, and that we would welcome the formal
Opinion of the Energy and Climate Change Committee under Standing
Order No. 143 (11) on this Communication before taking a definitive
view on it. In the meantime, the document remained under scrutiny.
Opinion of the Energy and Climate Change Committee
13.3 We have now received the following Opinion
from the Energy and Climate Change Committee, dated 20 June:
"The Committee discussed this at its meeting
and has agreed the following note:
1. International efforts to tackle climate change
have, to date, fallen far short of what is needed to prevent a
damaging 2C rise in global temperatures. The UNFCCC process,
however, is important because there is probably no other forum
that offers a better opportunity to secure an international agreement
to tackle the threat of climate change. The UK and EU should,
therefore, continue to use this process to promote further global
action to combat climate change.
2. The UK's ambition to reduce its emissions
by 80% by 2050 shows climate leadership — rather than trying
to do the minimum the UK and the EU are sending out the right
signals that this should be a race for increased ambition. The
UK and EU will, however, need to take other countries with it.
The EU needs as many allies in its negotiating position as possible
especially rapidly developing economies such as Brazil, China,
India and South Africa. The EU's influence over and potential
leadership of, future international negotiations could be greatly
increased if its own economy was decarbonised more rapidly.
3. In our report, The road to UNFCCC COP 18
and beyond,[34]
we considered the approach which the UK should take before and
during COP 18 in Doha. We concluded, among other things, that
the priorities should be the following:
- Improving the monitoring, reporting and verification
systems;
- Increasing UK and EU influence through the introduction
of more ambitious decarbonisation policies, including in particular
raising the EU 20% emissions reduction target (on 1990 levels)
by 2020 to 30%;
- Continuing to support the UNFCCC process as the
principal means of delivering an international agreement [...].
"We continue to believe that these things should
be a priority for the UK and EU leading up to a 2015 agreement.
The Government's position
"We agree with the Government that a 2015 agreement
must be rules-based, legally binding, applicable to all, and must
include a mechanism which allows future increase of ambition in
order to avoid a repeat of the current emissions gap. We also
support the Government's focus on measurement, reporting and verification
and of developing robust accounting rules.
"We agree with the Government's commitment to
ensuring that any new agreement should require all countries to
have mitigation commitments. However we also believe that, in
order to develop such an agreement, an equitable solution to tackling
climate change must be found. This will require a clearer understanding
of exactly what is meant by fairness and equity in relation to
climate change policy."
Conclusion
13.4 We are grateful to the Energy and Climate
Change Committee for this helpful Opinion, and have noted their
comments, which we are drawing to the attention of the House.
We have also considered how this Communication should be handled,
and having regard to the Government's comment that it is purely
a consultative document, which might inform, but not dictate,
the development of EU policy in this area, and that it does not
significantly contribute to the overall international debate,
we have concluded that it does not raise issues requiring further
consideration by the House. We are accordingly clearing it from
scrutiny.
34 Energy and Climate Change Committee, Second Report
of Session 2012-13, 17 July 2012 (HC 88): The road to UNFCCC
COP 18 and beyond. Back
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