V4
and Eastern Partnership meet in Budapest, 28 April 2014
EU member states should
be free to make their own decisions over whether to increase their greenhouse
gas emission reduction commitments for 2020 – rather than letting the EU lead,
according to a statement from seven Eastern European countries. With their
declaration the group puts a bombshell under the EU’s collective efforts at the
international climate negotiations.
Environment ministers from
the Visegrad Group (Poland, Slovakia, the Czech
Republic and Hungary) and Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia met in Hungary, current
holder of the Visegrad presidency, on 8 May and made
their call in a joint statement issued thereafter.
Their comments apply to the
Kyoto Protocol’s so-called “ambition mechanism”, which is a process agreed at
UN climate talks in Doha in 2012, which aims to help developed countries raise
their emission reduction pledges for 2020.
Developed countries need to
cut emissions by 25-40% by 2020, relative to 1990, to avoid dangerous climate
change, scientists say. But there remains a significant “gap” between what countries have pledged and what
needs to be done. The EU’s current pledge is to reduce emissions by 20% by
2020.
Now Poland and its Central
and Eastern European colleagues say about the Kyoto ambition mechanism: “The
commitments of all Parties shall be nationally determined so as to enable the
Parties to tailor their action according to their development needs to grow in
a sustainable manner and preserve their competitiveness.”
This turns traditional EU
decision-making on its head since, in line with past practice, the EU would
normally be the one to propose a fresh “EU” commitment for 2020, for this
thereafter to be shared out among member states.
A spokesman for Poland in
Brussels was categorical: “We agreed that countries should agree what they can
do and that this would make up the EU target, not target first and then we
negotiate effort-sharing.”
Interestingly, this is a
long way from Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s calls for an Energy Union where the EU would buy energy on behalf of
member states. And if this is what Central and Eastern European countries are
proposing for 2020, how do they imagine Europe’s climate contribution to a new
2015 UN climate treaty for future decades to be determined?
In the context of the EU’s
2030 climate and energy proposals, the Poles have talked about an
effort-sharing dialogue in parallel to one over the overall 40% reduction
target proposed by the European Commission. The Kyoto proposal clearly puts
effort-sharing in first place. And the prospect of Europe coming to Ban Ki-Moon’s climate summit in September with a post-2020
emissions pledge becomes more distant.
It is not clear yet what
the impact will be of the joint statement, which has received virtually no
publicity so far. On 14 May, an informal gathering will take place of EU
environment ministers in Athens. They will discuss preparations for
UNFCCC ministerial meetings on 5-6 June in Bonn, Germany, to talk about the
Kyoto Protocol and a new 2015 climate agreement.
They will also discuss the
2030 domestic package: “A major issue remains the principles and criteria to be
used for the impact analysis for individual member states and the development
of a fair effort sharing mechanism” according to the draft programme.
Energy ministers will pick up the 2030 discussion at their own informal council
on 15-16 May, also in Athens.
Europe seems more divided
than ever on climate and energy policy.
As of 13 May, the statement
referred to in the article, made on 8 May, did not appear yet on the website of the VIsegrad Group The statement was given to
Energy Post by the Permanent Representation of the Republic of Poland to the
EU.
We reproduce it here in
full:
Joint Statement
of the 20th Meeting of the Ministers of Environment of the Visegrád Group Countries, Bulgaria, Republic of
Croatia and Romania
8th May, 2014, Visegrád, Hungary
The Ministers of
Environment of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Republic of Poland, Slovak
Republic, Republic of Bulgaria, the Republic of Croatia and Romania
REAFFIRMING the importance
of the cooperation of the Visegrád Group countries,
Bulgaria, Republic of Croatia and Romania in the field of environmental
protection and climate policy,
BEARING in mind the
previous meetings of the Environment Ministers of Visegrád
Group countries and Visegrád Group countries,
Bulgaria, Republic of Croatia and Romania,
NOTING the Program of the
2013/2014 Hungarian Presidency of the Visegrád Group,
RECOGNIZING the potential
of the European Union policies and their impact on the environment – hence the
need to coordinate national positions related to those policies,
have agreed as follows:
European policy
framework for climate and energy in the period from 2020 to 2030
Regarding the European
policy framework for climate and energy in the period from 2020 to 2030 the
Ministers took note of the conclusions of the March European Council. However,
the Ministers felt that there are some important missing elements and tasks
ahead of the Council and the Commission to make further work for the June
European Council. These tasks should be in line with the international climate
change negotiations’ agenda. There is a need for further analysisby
the Commission of the implications for individual Member States of the
Commission’s proposals.
The Ministers maintained
their position that there is no need for any legally binding renewable energy
and energy efficiency targets, and that the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
reduction target should be set at a realistic level to be achieved in a
technology-neutral and cost effective way. Besides that, it should respond to
the challenges of industrial competitiveness as well as relevant state-aid rules.[1]
In line with the
Commission’s findings, the Ministers expressed their concerns that the target
could put disproportionate burden on the lower income Member States, therefore
the Ministers emphasised the need for agreeing on the
rules of fair and equitable effort and burden sharing within EU ETS allocation
of EUAs and under non ETS too. The Ministers agreed that proper mechanisms that
would allow lower income Member States to be compensated for the excessive
burden borne by the implementation of the new climate and energy framework need
to be elaborated and agreed upon as soon as possible, before the final decision
on the new policy framework for energy and climate is taken. This is one of the
key elements to pave the way for a decision on GHG reduction target by the
European Council in a timeline allowing a submission of the EU intended
contribution in the first quarter of 2015.
The Ministers noted that it
is stated in the Commission’s Communication of January 2014 thatthe
EU ETS shall remain the core element to fulfil the
European emissions reduction commitments until 2030. Bearing that in mind the
Ministers agreed that the efficient operation of the system should be ensured,
including the elaboration of adequate carbon-leakage protection mechanisms to
be applied.
Kyoto Protocol’s
ambition mechanism based on the Commission’s proposed submission
As for the Kyoto Protocol
ambition mechanism, the Ministers concluded that the global GHG emission
reduction efforts should be effective, hence global and equitable. While the
Ministers appreciate that the EU keeps its leadership position in addressing
climate change, the Ministers also emphasised that it
is crucial that all Parties do their fair share in this endeavour.
Hence, the Ministers encouraged all developed country Parties to join the EU in
taking on similarly ambitious mitigation commitments before 2020. Concerning
developing countries, the Ministers underlined that the EU should appreciate
their efforts to contribute adequately to global emission reduction efforts
according to their differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities,
bearing in mind that the responsibilities and capabilities evolve over time.
The commitments of all Parties, shall be nationally determined so as to enable
the Parties to tailor their action according to their development needs to grow
in a sustainable manner and preserve their competitiveness. The Ministers hope
that at the June Ministerial Roundtables in Bonn all Parties will discuss how
domestic and international action on climate change, now and in the future,
should build a strong foundation for a fair and ambitious 2015 agreement.
The Ministers support the
EU’s commitment to contribute to the global efforts by reducing its GHG
emissions by 20 per cent by 2020 compared to 1990 and to implement policies
towards achieving this goal.The Ministers took note
of the parts of Assessment Report 5 which were published and are looking
forward for further work by the IPCC to feed in global negotiations.
EU Clean Air
Policy Package – exchange of opinions on the further development of this
dossier
The Ministers discussed the
Clean Air Policy Package of the European Commission and agreed that the V4+
countries should take joint actions during its negotiations. As regards the
proposed aims and consequent reduction commitments, based upon preliminary
assessments, V4+ countries consider them to be overly ambitious and
disproportionate.
The Ministers considered
the application of EU-wide average cost minimisation
principle alone for the determination of reduction commitments unacceptable as
it would result in higher burden to Member States with lower GDP per capita. In
order to reach a more equitable result, other approaches, such as the polluter
pays principle, cohesion, economic potential should also be applied.
An increase in pollutant
emissions outside the EU as a result of reductions within the EU has to be
avoided. In this respect competitiveness of EU Member States should also be
taken into account.
V4+ countries do not
support inclusion of methane in the NEC regulation before comprehensive
assessment of its characteristics and air polluting effects, exploitation of
low or negative-cost measures for emission reduction by scientific bodies under
the LRTAP Convention.
The V4+ countries would
take joint steps to guarantee that emission limit values for medium scale
combustion plants are determined in a way that they do not impose any
unbearable burden to small medium-sized enterprises and households in their
countries.
For the countries of
V4+ the sector of small scale combustion is a very important part of the
emission reduction by 2030. To achieve maximum reduction, an ambitious Ecodesign regulation for boilers and heaters is a key
factor and at least part of the regulation should enter into force before 2022
(preferably on the basis of current technical standards).
GMOs
The Ministers highlighted
the importance of subsidiarity and sovereignty of
countries with regard to the cultivation of genetically modified organisms,
therefore they agreed to express their common and general support for the
proposal of a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending
Directive 2001/18/EC as regards the possibility for Member States to restrict
or prohibit the cultivation of GMOs in their territory. Proposed text, which,
was widely discussed at the working group, seems to be satisfactory for both,
countries opposing and supporting the cultivation of GM crops. Therefore, the
Ministers agreed that it is their common interest that after long standing
negotiations this particularly important issue should be resolved as soon as
possible, and the Council should come to an agreement in the course of the
first semester of 2014 in order to provide Member States with the freedom to
decide on the cultivation of GMOs in their territory.
Respecting the different
GMO-strategies of the neighbouring countries, the
Ministers should cooperate with a view to ensure appropriate information
sharing and may take appropriate measures in order to avoid the unintended
presence of GMOs in the border areas. Sharing of experience and cooperation
between neighbouring countries are necessary for the
successful protection of biodiversity and the interest of farmers in the border
areas.
The introduction of
national coexistence measures regarding the cultivation of GMOs is of utmost
importance. Therefore, the cooperation, the exchange of experience and
information among the countries with regard to the respective co-existence
measures are crucial in order to ensure the safe use of GMOs and avoid
cross-border contamination.
International
context of the V4 environmental cooperation
The Ministers are looking
forward to the first session of the United Nations Environment Assembly and
express their commitment to making this first historical session a success. The
Ministers consider the themes of UNEA, both for the Plenary and discussions, of
utmost importance. In order to achieve this highest impact of UNEA, we declare
our willingness to ensure the appropriate, thus negotiated outcome of the first
session. The Ministers are open to participate in an interactive ministerial
debate at the first UNEA session.
The Ministers believe that
sustainable development can only be achieved by an integrated and balanced
approach to all three dimensions – economic, social and environmental. The
Ministers agreed that water issues, biodiversity, climate change, sustainable
consumption and production, marine issues are subjects that should be
incorporated in the Sustainable Development Goals and we will take joint action
to achieve this.
Done in Visegrád,
on 8 May 2014
For the Czech Republic
For Hungary
For the Republic of Poland
For the Slovak Republic
For the Republic of
Bulgaria
For the Republic of Croatia
For Romania
