45 Paris Protocol: Tackling global climate
change beyond 2020
| Committee's assessment
| Politically important |
| Committee's decision | Cleared from scrutiny
|
| Document details | Commission Communication: The Paris Protocol — Tackling global climate change beyond 2020
|
| Legal base | —
|
| Department | Energy and Climate Change
|
| Document numbers | (36686), 6588/15 + ADDs 1-2, COM(15) 81
|
Summary and Committee's conclusions
45.1 In order to limit increases in the global average temperature
as compared with pre-industrial levels to 2°C, the Parties
to the 1994 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC) have sought to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However,
since it had become clear that the measures taken so far, notably
the Kyoto Protocol, would not achieve the required reductions,
it was agreed in 2011 that a new legally binding agreement applicable
to all Parties should be negotiated, This is now due to be finalised
in Paris in December 2015 (and to come into operation in 2020).
45.2 This Commission Communication sets out the steps
which the EU now needs to take in advance of the Paris conference,
and addresses a number of related issues. It says that there must
be a long-term goal of reducing global emissions in 2050 by at
least 60% compared with 2010 levels, with the setting of clear,
specific, ambitious and fair legally binding commitments, taking
into account different national circumstances, and it notes that
the European Council has endorsed a reduction by 2030 of at least
40% in all EU domestic emissions compared with 1990 — a
target which it describes as ambitious and fair, and in line with
a cost-effective path to a reduction of at least 80% by 2050.
45.3 The Communication adds that, for the Protocol
to be effective, it needs to have broad geographical coverage;
a comprehensive coverage of sectors and emissions; involve the
highest possible level of ambition in line with the Parties' capabilities
and circumstances; and contain robust mitigation commitments.
It also says that, in addition to ambitious emission reduction
targets (set out in Intended Nationally Determined Contributions
(INDCs)), the Protocol should provide for a global review every
five years; strengthen transparency and accountability in order
to assess whether targets and commitments have been met; encourage
climate-resilient sustainable development; and encourage policies
which mobilise substantial public and private sector investment
in low-emission climate-resilient development.
45.4 The Government believes the 2015 Agreement
should deliver ambitious and fair commitments from all countries,
and has welcomed the Communication as a helpful input to the debate,
noting that the new EU Climate and Energy Framework to 2030 was
agreed by the European Council in October 2014, in which the UK
played a leading role. It was initially concerned that in some
areas the document did not reflect agreed EU policy, and would
thus cause confusion within the international community, but it
says that these concerns have been addressed, and that there is
now a clearer understanding internationally of the document's
status. It also notes that the INDC for the European Union and
its 28 Member States, which reflects the agreed conclusions of
October 2014 European Council, was agreed by consensus at the
Environment Council on 6 March, and submitted to the UNFCCC on
the same date.
45.5 Since this Communication sets out the Commission's
suggested approach to the forthcoming conference in Paris which
is expected to result in a comprehensive and legally binding international
agreement on the reductions in greenhouse gas emissions needed
to contain global temperatures, it is obviously of some importance,
and we are therefore reporting it to the House. However, on the
core issue — the reduction to be offered by the EU by 2030
— the Communication reflects a strategy put forward by the
Commission in January 2014, and subsequently endorsed by the European
Council. Bearing in mind also that that document was debated in
European Committee A in April 2014, we do not see any need to
hold the current document under scrutiny, and are therefore clearing
it.
Full details of
the document: Commission
Communication: The Paris Protocol — A blueprint for tackling
global climate change beyond 2020: (36686), 6588/15 + ADDs
1-2, COM(15) 81.
Background
45.6 In the light of the findings of the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that increases in the global average
temperature as compared with pre-industrial levels should be limited
to 2°C in order to avoid severe and irreversible damage,
the Parties to the 1994 UNFCCC have sought to achieve the necessary
reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. This led to the adoption
in 1997 of the Kyoto Protocol, under which developed countries
undertook to reduce their emissions by 2012 (since extended to
2020). However, as it had become clear that, for a variety of
reasons, this would not achieve the required reductions, it was
agreed in 2011 that a new legally binding agreement applicable
to all Parties should be negotiated, and this agreement is now
due to be finalised in Paris in December 2015 (and to come into
operation in 2020). In the meantime, the Parties have also agreed
to submit their INDCs to the UNFCCC well in advance of Paris (and
by the first quarter of 2015 for those ready to do so), and to
set up a Green Climate Fund to assist developing countries mitigating
climate change and in adapting to its impact.
The current document
45.7 The Commission says that, in order to promote
collective action consistent with the IPCC's findings, the Paris
Protocol must set a long-term goal of reducing global emissions
in 2050 by at least 60% compared with 2010 levels, with the setting
of clear, specific, ambitious and fair legally binding commitments,
taking into account different national circumstances. It adds
that the detailed arrangements needed to achieve this objective
should be developed through a technical work programme, to be
completed in 2017; that Parties which make the mitigation commitment
needed to join the Protocol should have access to financial and
other resources; and that mitigation commitments should be legally
binding on all Paries, thus giving the clearest signal of their
determination to fight climate change.
45.8 It also notes that the Protocol will enter into
force as soon as countries accounting for 40 gigatonnes[ 344]
of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions in 2015 (representing about
80% of current global emissions) have deposited their instruments
of ratification. It adds that all G20 nations, representing 75%
of global emissions, as well as other high and middle income countries,
are expected to ratify and implement it in a timely manner, but
it stresses the particular importance of the EU, China and the
United States showing political leadership by doing so as soon
as possible.
45.9 The Commission has accordingly set out in this
Communication the steps which the EU now needs to take in advance
of the Paris conference, and to address a number of related issues.
REDUCTIONS IN EMISSIONS
45.10 The Commission notes that, despite a 45% increase
in its GDP, the EU's emissions between 1990 and 2013 declined
by 19%, and that latterly the European Council has endorsed the
target set out in its policy framework for climate and energy
in the period from 2020 to 2030[ 345]
for a reduction by then of at least 40% in all domestic emissions
compared with 1990 — a target which it describes as ambitious
and fair, and in line with a cost-effective path to a reduction
of at least 80% by 2050. However, it says that there is no merit
in proposing at this stage a higher conditional target, but that
this could be considered if warranted by the outcome of the negotiations.
45.11 The Commission goes on to put the EU's position
into a global context, pointing out that its proportion of emissions
— currently 9% — is falling, whereas China and the
United States now account for 25% and 11% of emissions respectively.
It notes that these countries have followed the EU in announcing
indicative post 2020 targets, and that these thus cover close
to half of global emissions.
45.12 It adds that, for the Protocol to be effective,
and to achieve a level playing field:
· it
needs to have broad geographical coverage, with the Parties, except
the least developed countries, putting forward their INDCs as
early as possible in 2015;
· there
should be comprehensive coverage of sectors and emissions (including
land use, international aviation and shipping, and fluorinated
gases);
· Parties
should show the highest possible level of ambition in line with
their responsibilities, capabilities and circumstances, with those
having the greatest capabilities putting forward the most ambitious
mitigation commitments; and
· there
needs to be robust mitigation commitments, ideally involving economy-wide
absolute targets combined with emissions budgets.
OTHER MEASURES
45.13 In addition to securing ambitious emission
reduction targets, the Commission says that the Protocol should:
· provide
for a global review every five years to strength mitigation commitments
in line with the latest science;
· strengthen
transparency and accountability in order to assess whether emissions
reduction targets and related commitments have been met, with
the establishment of a common set of rules and procedures for
annual reporting, regular verification and international expert
reviews of emission inventories;
· encourage
climate-resilient sustainable development by promoting international
cooperation and supporting policies which decrease vulnerability
and improve the capacity of countries to adapt to the impacts
of climate change; and
· promote
efficient and effective implementation and cooperation by encouraging
policies which mobilise substantial public and private sector
investment in low-emission climate-resilient development.
IMPACT ON OTHER EU POLICIES
45.14 The Commission notes that EU Foreign Ministers
have endorsed a Climate Diplomacy Action Plan which it developed
jointly with the European External Action Service, and that the
EU will be further stepping up its climate diplomacy ahead of
the Paris Conference through political dialogue at meetings of
the G7 and G20 and the UN General Assembly, through development
cooperation, and linking climate change to its potential long-term
consequences, including security challenges. In addition, it suggests
that the negotiation can be actively supported by other EU policies,
including scientific research, technology development and innovation;
trade policy; environmental policy; and disaster risk management.
45.15 The Commission concludes by saying that the
EU needs to:
· submit
its own INDC by the end of the first quarter of 2015;
· encourage
major economies to take the lead by submitting timely and ambitious
INDCs, and similar action by as many other Parties as possible;
· make
the promotion of ambitious global change a central diplomatic
priority;
· ensure
the stability and predictability of the financial support it provides
to others for low-emission and climate-resilient development;
· press
for the liberalisation by the end of 2015 of trade in environmental
goods and services;
· ensure
that climate action is consistent with UN Sustainable Development
goals and funding post 2015; and
· ensure
that the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol is ratified
before the end of 2015 by the EU, its Member States, and as many
Parties as are need to endure its entry into force.
45.16 It also says that it will start by mid-2015
to present legislative proposals to implement the 2030 climate
and energy framework, and that it will continue to mainstream
climate change action into other relevant policy areas.
The Government's view
45.17 Our predecessors initially received an Explanatory
Memorandum of 11 March 2015, but the then Chairman wrote saying
that the Committee considered this placed too much emphasis on
the procedures involved at the expense of the policy aspects,
and asked for a revised version.
45.18 This has now been provided in an Explanatory
Memorandum of 25 June 2015 from the Secretary of State for Energy
and Climate Change (Amber Rudd), who says that the UK believes
the 2015 Agreement should deliver ambitious and fair commitments
from all countries to reduce emissions; track progress, build
trust and facilitate increased ambition for the future; and provide
support to those who need it, particularly the poorest and most
vulnerable to develop climate resilience.
She also welcomes the Communication as a helpful input to the
debate both on the Paris Agreement and the INDC of the EU and
its 28 Member States, and notes that the new Climate and Energy
Framework to 2030, including an emissions reductions target of
at least 40% domestic on 1990 levels by 2030, was agreed by the
European Council in October 2014, in which the UK played a leading
role. (The Minister adds that the UK set out its own vision of
the Paris 2015 Agreement in September 2014 through its Paris 2015
publication: Paris 2015 — Securing our prosperity through
a global climate change agreement.[ 346])
45.19 At the same time, the Minister cautions that
the Communication is a Commission document, which in some areas
did not reflect agreed EU policy, and was published a month ahead
of the due date for the INDC submission, giving rise to initial
UK concerns that it would cause some confusion within the international
community. However, she says that these concerns have been addressed
through engagement and explanation by many EU Member States (including
the UK), and she considers that there is now a clearer understanding
internationally that the document was not the EU's INDC submission
— which was, at the time, still under discussion —
and that, although a contribution to the discussion, did not reflect
an agreed EU policy on the Paris Protocol.
45.20 The Minister adds that the INDC for the European
Union and its 28 Member States, which translates the agreed conclusions
of October 2014 European Council into a submission for the UNFCCC,
was agreed by consensus at the Environment Council on 6 March,
and submitted to the UNFCCC on the same date. She also says that
the Government's view is that the INDC, involving a reduction
by 2030 of at least 40% domestic greenhouse gas emissions compared
with 1990, is an ambitious contribution from the EU, and will
put it on a cost effective trajectory to the 80-95% reductions
on 1990 levels by 2050 recommended by the IPCC.
45.21 The Minister concludes by saying that the Government
will continue to work with the Commission and all other Member
States to ensure that the EU continues to take an ambitious position
to secure a deal in Paris that best serves UK interests, with
the position being further elaborated in Council Conclusions,
agreed by consensus.
Previous Committee Report(s)
None.
344 1 gigatonne = 109 tonnes. Back
345 (35754), 5644/14: see Thirty-seventh Report HC 83-xxxiv (2013-14),
chapter 2 (26 February 2014). Back
346 Paris 2015 publication. Back
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