By Brian Johnson - 23rd January 2008
MEPs are set to underline the importance of the European parliament’s co-legislator status in securing a deal on the EU’s ambitious new energy and climate change proposals.
Deputies will tell commission president José Manuel Barroso after he unveils the widely-leaked proposals to MEPs on Wednesday that a final deal will require “an extraordinary degree of cooperation” between the parliament, commission and member states.
Commenting ahead of Wednesday’s proposals, chair of parliament’s environment committee Miroslav Ouzký said he was glad the "long-awaited proposals" were now being submitted.
"The fight against climate change and its consequences is one of the major challenges of the 21st century," said Ouzký.
"All of us, citizens, enterprises and industry alike, we need certainty about the future rules for EU policy in the field of climate change, and we need clarity about the effects of those rules.
"The presentation of the proposals lays the foundations for future binding legislation, which will be passed jointly by the parliament and council.
"Members of the environment committee will now appoint a rapporteur and start working on this dossier in order to prepare parliament's position as fast and thoroughly as possible. Our citizens expect that their directly elected representatives take the matter seriously."
Guido Sacconi, chair of parliament’s temporary committee on climate change, echoed Ouzký’s pleasure that the proposals were being presented on time.
"Thanks to the energy and climate change package, the EU will have confirmed and strengthened the leading role it played at the recent UN climate change conference in Bali.
"Now it is up to the parliament, as legislator, to show responsibility and coherence towards citizens, companies and international actors."
The strong reactions elicited by the commission's December proposal on CO2 emissions from cars means that the road to achieving consensus will not be an easy one.
"We must reach a compromise in limited time, before the end of the current legislature. The task at hand is extremely demanding and will thus require an extraordinary degree of cooperation between parliament, council and commission."
Former environment committee chair, and parliament’s rapporteur for the temporary committee on climate change, Karl-Heinz Florenz, said that it was now time for the EU to act on tackling climate change.
"We can no longer afford to let time go by - we have to act now for future generations, for our children."
But the German deputy also warned that "the EU's targets in CO2 reduction have to be borne by many shoulders, taking account of different economy sectors and their possibility to reduce CO2".
"Public awareness, science and research are of great importance. As regards these requirements, the commission proposal is a good policy paper for the European parliament to work with."
The commission’s proposals, based on climate and energy targets endorsed by EU leaders last March, will be presented to MEPs today at an extraordinary plenary session in the European parliament.
The package, which has already come under fire from both industry and environmentalists, will include proposals to broaden and strengthen the EU’s flagship emissions trading scheme and plans to establish separate greenhouse gas emission limits for each EU member state for sectors not covered by the scheme.
According to the commission, taken together, the two proposals will ensure that the EU reduces its emissions to at least 20 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020 with the possibility of a 30 per cent reduction if other developed countries commit to equivalent efforts under a yet to be agreed future global climate change agreement.
The package will also include proposals to set national targets for renewable energy in each member state to reach an EU average of 20 per cent by 2020 and plans to ensure sustainable biofuel production.
Also expected are legislative proposals to establish a legal framework on carbon capture and storage technology and a code governing state aid for environmental projects.
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