EU climate policy
Commission cannot be allowed to abandon 2 degree climate target
The European Commission today presented a paper outlining the EU's position towards this year's crucial UN climate summit in Paris. The Greens expressed regret both at the ambition in the Commission's proposals and some of the crucial elements absent from the communication. Commenting on the 'Paris Roadmap', Green spokesperson for the UN climate talks Yannick Jadot said:
"The Commission sadly seems to be just going through the motions on climate policy, without any real conviction. This is beyond disappointing, given how high the stakes are for Paris and the COP21: we need to reach an ambitious and binding global agreement if we are to have a chance of halting climate change, and the EU will have to play a central part to this end.
"This communication is totally out of line with the overarching goal of limiting global warming to below 2 degrees and preventing dangerous climate change. The Commission is just lying down and accepting that Paris will not produce a deal consistent with the 2 degree target, rather than making an effort to ensure it does: such as by suggesting the EU up its insufficient emissions reduction target."
Green climate change spokesperson Bas Eickhout said:
"The Commission has also seemingly plucked some new figure out of the air with its new proposed greenhouse gas emissions target for 2050 but this is not in line with the scientific recommendation for keeping the temperature rise below 2 degrees. The Commission cannot simply be allowed to abandon the 2 degree target, which the EU has long been committed to.
"Instead of kowtowing to Washington, the EU should be looking towards partners in the emerging and developing world who truly want to conclude a deal. To this end, the failure to include meaningful proposals on climate finance totally undermines this communication. Everyone knows there will be no deal in Paris without a deal on financing for climate change adaptation and mitigation in developing countries. The EU can try and ignore this but it will not simply go away."
