Regional: EU Flashcards
aim
The EU has agreed to a ‘20/20/20 vision’, a form of energy policy for Europe (European Climate Change Programme), whereby there will be a 20% reduction in GHG emissions, a commitment to 20% energy coming from renewable energy, and a 20% increase in energy efficiency, all by 2020.
achieved
The EU proposes to set itself a target of reducing emissions to 40% below 1990 levels by 2030 and to reduce it by 80-95% by 2050! The EU has agreed that at least 20% of its 960 billion Euro budget for the period 2014-2020 should be spent on action related to climate change.
Evaluation +++
The vision includes:
-creating a renewable energy road map describing the various renewable energy technologies that could be developed more widely across Europe,
-greater integration of gas and electricity networks across Europe.
The main success of the vision is having a carbon trading system. It is the worlds only compulsory example of ‘cap and trade’ -a mechanism that sets a limit on the emission of a pollutant but allows companies that are within the limit to sell credits to companies that need to pollute more. This covers about 45% of EU carbon emissions.
The power generation, steel, cement and other heavily polluting industries such as airlines are part of the scheme. Any industry with an account in the EU registry can buy or sell credits, whether they are a company covered by the scheme or not.
evaluation —
During 2009, the credits were valued at 20 euros per tonne but some experts believe they should be more expensive at 100 euros per tonne if they are to be more effective in cutting emissions from the big polluters. The EU have allowed Australia to link in with the scheme too, meaning it has been a success by going global. The issue is, is the cap and trade scheme resolving the problem of burning fossil fuels or simply delaying the inevitable outcome of a warmer planet?
