Paris Agreement now enshrined in EU law

Last night, a final text on a European framework law on climate and energy (energy governance) was adopted in trilogue. This Regulation is the transposition at European level of the Paris Agreement resulting from COP21. It sets the means to collectively achieve our climate and energy objectives.

Greens/EFA co-rapporteur Claude Turmes comments:

“If the Paris climate agreement was a sign of ambition, this is the roadmap for how we make it happen. All EU countries will now have to produce national action plans, compliant with the Paris Agreement goal of keeping global warming well below 2°C, pursuing 1.5°C. For the first time, we anchored into EU law the concept of "carbon budget" and the need to achieve a net-zero carbon economy as early as possible.

“However, there is no escaping the fact that the EU’s overall energy package is still not strong enough. The UNFCCC stock-taking exercise in 2023 must be used to raise the EU's 2030 targets, notably on energy efficiency and renewable energy sources, to make sure the EU is on track.”

Greens/EFA co-rapporteur Michèle Rivasi welcomes action on energy poverty:

"It is a success for the protection of the planet, but also for the European Union. We’re only going to meet the challenge of climate change if everyone plays a part. That’s why we made sure the new governance includes a mechanism to ensure a fair contribution from all Member States to the deployment of renewable energy. This will prevent free-riding and make sure that anyone that lags behind would have to swiftly implement corrective measures.

“National governments will now have to report on energy poverty and come up with credible plans for tackling it. This will help bring an end to the disgraceful situation where so many people find themselves struggling to heat their homes.”