Political “credibility” of EU at stake over climate policy

The centre-right in Europe face “a moment of truth” in relation to climate policy ahead of this week's Council summit, according to environmental critics.

As the EU struggles to complete its position in time for December's Copenhagen conference, Green MEPs have called for true political leadership from heads of government this week in moving climate policy forward, and  have warned against the “gathering defeatism” beginning to creep into the debate.

Referring to the political landscape  across the EU, as well as harking back to the failed Rio summit in 1992, MEP Claude Turmes warned that governments cannot afford to let this opportunity for change pass. “the next few weeks, he said, “will be the moment of truth for the centre-right in Europe. It is up to them whether we will be at the vanguard of climate policy, and also politics generally”.

The Greens, along with environmental and development NGOs, are pushing for a more ambitious set of climate targets than those already proposed by the EU, which, they maintain, do not currently go far enough. The pledge to cut emissions by 20% by 2020, or 30% if a global deal can be reached, have been catorgorised as “hazy” by Caroline Lucas.

Lucas has also warned against the lowering of expectations regarding a deal in Copenhagen, and has urged for EU leaders to “reinvigorate” the negotiation process with bold pledges and innovative ideas for emission reductions.

She has cited the examples of Japan and Norway as being ahead of the EU in what they currently achieve and intend to do in the future. Japan is currently the most energy efficient nation in the G8, and, like Norway, is working strongly to maintain its pledge of 25% cut in emissions.

Aside form the leadership question, that is, developing an unambiguously strong climate policy for others to follow, Finnish MEP, Satu Hassi has identified three interlinked issues that need also to be resolved; the emissions levels of industrialised nations, how to limit reductions from developing nations, and how to finance such ambitious schemes.

The last point is particularly troublesome. Last week, finance ministers failed to agree on a financial package for dealing with global emissions, while in September, a Commission communication on the subject failed, in the eyes of environmentalists, to fully  understand the financing needs of the developing countries.

Currently, the Greens suggest an annual pledge of €30bn to developing countries, which must be “new, guaranteed funding”.

This summit is, according to Hassi, the “last chance” for the EU to resolve these difficult issues. Its leaders, she says, need to respond with “honesty and logic” to climate science and ask themselves seriously what they can do to break the current deadlock.

From this summit, as well as from Copenhagen, developing countries need to be able to look at Europe and remark that “Europe not only has credibility, but also the money too”, says Turmes.

Securing these valuable political commodities would manoeuvre the EU ahead of its global rivals, contends Lucas. “If the EU is prepared to move ahead “, she says, “then it could be playing that leadership role of which it boasts”.