The Commission presents a communication entitled
‘Accelerating Europe's transition to a low-carbon
economy’, which accompanies:
- the
legislative proposal on binding annual greenhouse gas emissions
reductions by Member States from 2021 to 2030;
- the legislative proposal on the inclusion of
greenhouse gas emissions and removals from land use, land use
change and forestry into the 2030 climate and energy
framework.
The series of measures set out in the communication
aim to offer those Member States that have already started to
prepare their post-2020 energy and climate strategies with
the necessary clarity and tools to proceed with the domestic
ratification process of the Paris agreement in climate
change.
The Commission considers that the package of
measures helps Europe to prepare for the future and to stay
competitive. These measures are primarily addressed to Member
States, since they will be in the forefront of deciding how to
implement measures to meet the agreed greenhouse gas emission
target for 2030.
However, Member States cannot do it alone. The EU must
also:
- support its businesses, farmers, researchers,
investors, educators and social partners, by providing EU-wide measures and enabling
environment ;
- support action by its rural communities and also its
cities, which are among the most
dynamic and innovative actors in implementing a low-carbon,
circular economy.
In the current global context, the Union must support
its climate diplomacy action plan and seek to:
- remain a leader in developing innovative low-carbon
technologies and services, not only
in the energy sector but also in industry, buildings and
transport;
- continue to equip Europeans with the right
skills for the low-carbon economy,
invest in the future and help industry to adjust to changing
needs.
Guiding principles of a regulatory
framework: the EU agreed in October
2014 a clear commitment to reach a binding, economy-wide
emissions reduction target of at least 40% by 2030, compared to
1990 levels in all sectors (buildings, transport, waste,
agriculture, as well as land-use and forestry). The new regulatory
framework is based on the key principles of fairness, solidarity,
flexibility and environmental integrity.
To start implementing that commitment, in July 2015,
the Commission presented a
proposal to reform the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) to
make it fit for purpose and drive investments after 2020 in the
industrial and power sectors. The European Parliament and the
Council should do their utmost to adopt this proposal
quickly.
Furthermore, for the first time, the land use and
forestry sector (LULUCF) will be integrated into the EU 2030
Climate and Energy Framework. The Commission proposes a careful
balance between more incentives to capture carbon in soil and
forests and the need to maintain the environmental integrity of the
EU climate framework.
The proposal for a Regulation on the LULUCF sector
establishes more robust accounting rules for land, land-use and
forestry. As forest management is the main source of biomass for
energy and wood production, more robust accounting rules for forest
management will provide a solid basis for Europe's renewables
policy and the further development the bio-economy after
2020.
Fostering the enabling environment for low-carbon
transition in the EU: building on
this regulatory framework, the EU will support Member States with a
number of tools and enabling measures.
Strategy for Energy Union and other sectoral
initiatives:
- the Commission is presenting a strategy on
low-emission mobility, which identifies the key levers in the
field of transport, including EU-wide measures on low and
zero-emission vehicles and alternative low emissions fuels. The
strategy also underlines the need to make the most of the synergies
between the transport and energy systems;
- the Commission is reviewing the existing EU-framework
for energy efficiency and will present proposals later this year,
including on how to attract financing into buildings
renovation;
- the land-use and forestry proposal will create
additional incentives for carbon sequestration in these related
activities;
- with regard to the common agricultural policy, the
review of EU-wide policy addressing the use of fertilisers is
expected to contribute to a reduction of emissions from mined and
synthetic fertilisers;
- the Waste Management Framework Directive and in
particular the Landfill
Directive, for which the Commission proposed revisions last
year, are expected to contribute to a significant reduction of
emissions from waste.
Several factors outside this framework can help to
facilitate energy transition in all sectors of the
economy. The Commission notes the
following:
- meet the challenges of the circular economy (an
ambitious circular economy package was presented in
2015);
- present an integrated Energy Union strategy for
research, innovation and competitiveness later this year, in
order to directly support the achievement of Europe's climate and
energy goals;
- increase efforts for shifting and rapidly scaling
up private investment: the recent emergence of green bonds can
also help direct capital flows towards low-carbon
investments;
- ensure that the current EU budget spending is
aligned with the climate objectives;
- explore ways to combine the resources available under
other EU programmes, as for example the Connecting Europe Facility
or Horizon 2020 to unlock additional investments, in particular
through investment platforms ;
- anticipate and mitigate the societal impact of the
transition in specific regions and
socio-economic sectors, including through the European Structural
and Investment Funds;
- improve skills intelligence and address skills
shortages in specific economic
sectors including green technologies in the framework of the new comprehensive
skills agenda for Europe;
- as a member of the World Trade Organisation, actively
promote liberalisation of goods and services, which can
deliver environmental benefit.
The Commission will immediately start or accelerate
better regulation processes (including public consultations and
impact assessments) to turn the action plan on low-emission
mobility into a set of efficient and proportionate measures. By the
end of the year, it will also present the remaining initiatives to
complete the delivery of the EU's Energy
Union Strategy.