As the COP20 climate talks got underway in Lima in December, paving the way for next year’s COP21 talks in Paris, a panel debate organised by EU affairs media outlet European Voice saw representatives from the three main EU institutions set out their views on “The Road to Paris”. EU Energy and Climate Commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete, Member of European Parliament Miriam Dalli, and Juris Stalmeistars from the upcoming Latvian EU Presidency shared a high degree of optimism about the process and expressed the political will to position the EU as a continued leader on climate change. All three also strongly supported strengthening the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) as a matter of priority.
Kicking off the debate, Commissioner Arias Cañete expressed his optimism about the ongoing talks in Lima and saw big momentum building towards the COP21 conference in Paris next year – unlike in previous years where the mood had always been less optimistic. Looking at the immediate steps for the Commission on the road to Paris, strengthening the EU ETS through the adoption of the proposed Market Stability Reserve (MSR) was top on the list. He hoped for an agreement in Q1 2015 – a hope voiced also by the Latvian representative. In addition, in 2015 the Commission would launch a detailed impact assessment on targets for the non-ETS sectors. It would also develop the new ‘governance mechanism’ and propose priority sectors for action on energy efficiency, following the request of the European Council from October 2014. Generally, the most immediate challenge was one of the implementation, which “might not sound glamourous” but it was necessary to establish the EU as a credible negotiating partner for Paris.
Miriam Dalli, a member of European Parliament, shared the Commissioner’s sense of hope. Unfortunately, environmental issues has been overshadowed by the recent economic crisis, however Dalli has seen some encouraging signs that this was beginning to change. She pointed to the recent announcement by the US and China to cut emissions and to new pledges to the UN’s Green Climate Fund. Moving from climate policy to broader energy policy, she called for an “energy model” suited for a true Energy Union, covering a holistic approach on competitiveness, CO2 emission reductions, an “infrastructure union”, and a social element focused on jobs, consumer rights and affordability.
Speaking on behalf of the upcoming Latvian EU Presidency, Juris Stalmeistars reaffirmed that the EU wants to take leadership in the climate debate and set out the Latvian Presidency’s planned work on climate and energy for the first half of 2015. This includes most notably the quick adoption of the MSR proposal, work on the energy efficiency priority sectors, and particular attention to financing options, including the NER400, the Solidarity Fund and the recently announced EU investment package.