EU Environment Council to Address Energy, Climate, Biodiversity Issues

February 29 2008 // Published as a news service by IHS

The links between the CARE package and negotiations on a global climate change agreement to succeed the Kyoto Protocol will be discussed with representatives from the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Participants at the March council meeting are also expected to adopt a set of conclusions as input to the upcoming Spring European Council meeting, as well as conclusions setting out the EU's position for the May meetings of the U.N. Biodiversity Convention and the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety.

Climate Action and Renewable Energy (CARE) package
The Environment Council will hold a public debate on the major package of climate change and renewable energy proposals presented by the EC on Jan. 23 to implement the commitments made by the March 2007 European Council (see IP/08/80, MEMO/08/34, MEMO/08/35, MEMO/08/36, MEMO/08/33).

The EC's package proposed:

• A 21% reduction by 2020 in emissions from sectors covered by the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS).
• National emission targets for emissions not covered by the EU ETS.
• National renewable energy targets; sustainability criteria for biofuels.
• A legislative framework to promote the safe use of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies.

The debate in the March Environment Council meeting will be guided by four questions, which focus on:

• The EC's package's level of ambition.
• The design of the proposals for ETS and non-ETS sectors.
• Whether the CCS proposals are sufficient to achieve its deployment.
• The effectiveness of the sustainability criteria for biofuels.

CO2 emissions from cars
Ministers at the Environment Council meeting will hold a policy debate on the EC's proposal for a regulation to reduce CO2 emissions from new cars (see IP/07/1965). The proposal seeks to cut average CO2 emissions from new passenger cars sold in the EU from the current level of around 160 grams per kilometre to 130 g/km kilometre in 2012 through improvements in engine technology.

Complementary measures, such as efficiency improvements in components and greater use of biofuels, will contribute a further emissions saving of 10 grams, taking average emissions from new cars sold in 2012 to 120 g/km.

The proposed legislation is the cornerstone of the EU's strategy to improve the fuel economy of cars, which account for about 12% of the EU's carbon emissions.

The Environment Council debate will be guided by two questions focusing on:

• Whether ministers agree that the proposal respects the criteria put forward by the council in its conclusions on the matter last June.
• What can be done to further improve the balance between the different elements of the proposal in order to meet its environmental goals.

Contribution to the Spring European Council
Ministers at the Environment Council meeting are due to adopt council conclusions as input to the Spring European Council meeting, to be held March 13-14. The conclusions focus on five priorities:

• Climate change and energy.
• Halting biodiversity loss.
• Environmental technologies.
• Sustainable consumption and production.
• Better regulation.

The conclusions will respond to, among other things, the EC's CARE package and its strategic report on the renewed Lisbon strategy for growth and jobs.

Regarding climate and energy, the draft conclusions will set out key principles to guide the translation of the European Council's decisions into policy measures by the council:

• Biodiversity - They stress the need to achieve greater synergies between climate change and biodiversity policies and for full implementation of the Natura 2000 network of protected sites.
• Environmental technologies - They emphasise the need to design environmental legislation to support eco-innovation.
• Sustainable consumption and production - They set out the council's expectations for the action plans on sustainable consumption and production and on sustainable industrial policy to be presented by the EC later this year.
• Better regulation - They call on the EC and EU member states to share best practices on implementation and enforcement of legislation.

U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity
Conclusions are expected on the EU's negotiating position at the Ninth Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, to be held May 19-30 in Bonn, Germany. The conclusions will underline the intrinsic value of biodiversity and its importance for life on earth and for supporting ecosystem services.

The conclusions will also stress the EU's commitment to strong political responses to support the Convention on Biological Diversity adopted in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. The council will also reiterate the commitment to halt the loss of biodiversity in Europe by 2010.

The major issue to be discussed concerns the financing of the implementation of the convention, and the work on protected areas.

Cartagena Protocol
The Environment Council is also expected to adopt conclusions for the Fourth Meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, to be held May 12-16, also in Bonn. The protocol, which was adopted in 2003, seeks to protect biological diversity from the risks posed by living organisms modified through modern biotechnology.

The conclusions will call, in particular, for a decision on international rules and procedures in the field of liability and redress for damage resulting from transboundary movements of living modified organisms, and for the meeting of the parties to take the steps needed to arrive at and implement an effective international framework for biosafety.

Other business
Other business issues expected to be covered at the Environment Council's March 3 meeting include:

• Euro VI limits on polluting emissions from trucks and buses (see IP/07/1989).
• Noise from AWACS military aircraft.
• Emissions from shipping in the context of next month's meeting of the Marine Environment Protection Committee of the International Maritime Organisation.
• Ukraine's decision regarding the Danube-Black Sea deep navigation channel.
• Management of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in the EU.

Source: European Commission.