The Council
held a public debate on key aspects of the climate change and renewable
energy legislative package. Ministers confirmed the need to achieve ambitious
objectives in the fight against climate change whilst preserving European
potential for economic growth.
EU member
states and the Commission stressed the importance of reaching a timely
agreement with a view to facilitating a broader convergence on a global
scale, in the run-up to the international meeting to take place in Copenhagen in December 2009.
The
discussions concentrated on key aspects of the package, namely:
On the EU
emission trading system (ETS) review:
- the
allocation method; redistribution and use of auctioning proceeds and
rules for auctioning,
- risks of
"carbon leakage": relocation of energy-intensive industries
outside the EU,
- EU-wide cap:
replacement of the current system of national allocation plans by the
setting of an EU-wide cap,
- reference
year or period to be used for verified emissions data,
- new entrants
reserve: quantity of allowances set aside for new entrants,
- small installations:
size of installation to be potentially excluded from the scope of the
ETS.
On
effort-sharing (amongst member states in sectors not covered by the ETS):
- scope:
sectors not to be covered by the EU ETS,
- reference
year or period for calculating the reduction targets per country,
- intermediate
targets: effectiveness of using indicative or compulsory intermediate
targets;
- on
cross-cutting issues between EU ETS review and effort-sharing,
- trigger
20-30%: adjustment clause enabling the EU to move from the independent
20% commitment to a more ambitious target to which a future
international agreement will commit the EU,
- degree of
flexibility for member states to meet their commitments in a
cost-efficient way.
On carbon
capture and storage (CCS):
- storage
permits,
- composition
of CO2 stream,
- transfer of
responsibility after closure of a storage site,
- modalities
of the financial security provision to be made by applicants for storage
permits,
- conditions
of access to transport networks,
- capture
readiness.
On
sustainability criteria for biofuels:
- minimum
greenhouse gas emission saving requirement,
- environmental
and social criteria,
- methodology
for calculating the greenhouse gas emission saving.