Experts en Europarlementariërs debatteren over aanpak CO2-uitstoot (en)

"Energy, transport and industry together give the majority of global CO2 emissions", said theme leader Barsi Pataki (EPP-ED, HU) in her opening statement to the Climate Change Committee's Fifth Thematic Session on Monday. MEPs and experts debated the best policy mix for reducing these emissions, including CO2 emission limits for cars, the use of sustainable biofuels, auctioning CO2 emission rights, sector-specific agreements and new technology R&D.

"If nothing is done, the transport sector will soon be the biggest factor of CO2 emissions", said Mr Mc Inness (on behalf of European Environment Agency i Executive Director Jaqueline MCGlade), adding that "car CO2 emissions need to be reduced to 80-95 g/km if the Bali roadmap is to be achieved". But a rigid mechanism is not a solution - politicians should adopt only a framework, said Matthias Wissmann, President of the German automotive industry association VDA, adding that improved fuel efficiency has to be part of the solution. Director of The European Federation for Transport and Environment Jos Dings added that cars need to be made "more CO2 efficient", since it is easier to change cars than to change people's habits. Several MEPs, including Michael Cramer (Greens/EFA, DE) countered that technical changes were not enough and that habits need to be changed, e.g. by imposing speed limits.

Greater use of bioenergy must also be part of the solution, if sustainability criteria are to respected, said Anne Ferreira (PES, FR). Mr Dings argued against a quantitative target for biofuels, advocating a more generic low carbon fuel standard instead. The distinction between "good" and "bad" biofuels should be based not on that between first and second generation ones, but on land use, he said. For Mr Wissmann, second generation biofuels are the key - biodiesel and ethanol should be seen only as a "bridge". Felix Matthes, of the Öko Institute for Applied Ecology, concluded that biomass is a very complicated form of energy and that many factors have to be taken into account.

Several MEPs backed the idea of auctioning CO2 emission rights to the air transport sector. "Aviation has been privileged for decades and is one of the industries best placed for auctioning", said Caroline Lucas (UK, Greens/EFA). Philippe Eydaleine, Senior Vice-President European Affairs, Air France - KLM, opposed auctioning on the grounds that it would "act mainly as a tax". To reduce CO2 emissions, he proposed solutions like fleet renewal and the completion of the Single European Sky, which he said, would lead to better air transport management. The latter idea was taken up by the EP climate change rapporteur Karl Heinz Florenz (EPP-ED, DE), who underlined that the dossier will have to be pushed in the EP.

Mr Mattes set the tone of debate on energy-intensive industries by stating that "if we fail to reduce emissions in energy-intensive industries, we will not achieve the targets". Asked about the usefulness of sector-specific agreements and auctioning, he said that such agreements "are a myth and will not solve any of the problems". Lars Göran Josefsson, CEO of the Swedish power company Vattenfal) agreed that "sectoral agreements are a waste of time", but both experts backed the idea of auctioning emission rights.

Speakers agreed that research and development must also be part of the solution. "More detailed proposals are needed on how to achieve CO2 reduction through technological change", said Herbert Reul (EPP-ED, DE). Mr Wissmann argued against focusing on a single technology, like hydrogen or the fuel cell, but said that all possibilities need to be examined. Matthias Grothe (PES, DE) agreed that "fuel cells aren't the magic bullet" and unfortunately, "we don't know at the moment which technology will prevail in the future".

03/03/2008

Temporary Committee on Climate Change

In the chair : Guido Sacconi (PES, IT)