Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/611961
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 6 DECEMBER 2015 16 A delegation of 15 MEPs will take part in the UN climate conference in Paris, France, from Monday to Friday. The European Parliament says that the 2015 Protocol must be legally binding and ambi- tious from the outset, with five-year commitment pe- riods. In a resolution voted in October, MEPs also pro- posed that a share of rev- enues from the EU carbon market allowances should be earmarked for climate fi- nance, and that aviation and shipping sectors should ini- tiate measures to curb their emissions. During the week, del- egation MEPs will meet, among others, UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) chair Mr Hoesung Lee, UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Executive Direc- tor Achim Steiner, and Ms Hela Cheikhrouhou, Green Climate Fund (GCF) Execu- tive Director. They will talk to key negotiators and meet counterparts from other parliaments, as well as local and international NGOs, industrial stakeholders, International Civil Avia- tion Organization (ICAO) and International Maritime Organization (IMO) repre- sentatives. In Paris, their challenge will be to help build trust between all Parties. We all need this agreement to happen, but not any agree- ment", said Environment Committee Chair Giovanni La Via (EPP, IT). "First and foremost, the 2-degree tar- get. We want to ensure that the agreement will be bind- ing, with a review clause every five years, allowing us to raise our ambition over time", he said. "The European Union must not be the only one to implement high standards for companies. Efforts must be shared by all, if needed by helping other countries get access to cleaner tech- nologies more quickly" he continued. "Also, finance will once again be the deal maker – or the deal killer. For us, climate finance should be dealt with as a dynamic ele- ment, and reflect changing environmental and eco- nomic realities. All parties who are in a position to do so should contribute, under a robust monitoring frame- work", he concluded.. "Europe is facing an uphill struggle" said Delega- tion Vice-Chair Matthias Groote (S&D, DE). "World- wide, we are already facing some 20 million refugees and there are more to come. An Oxford Univer- sity study estimates that up to 200 million climate refugees will be on the move by 2050. We have to act together now. Consist- ency of action and strong policies are paramount", he said. "By further strengthen- ing the Emissions Trading System (ETS) through the introduction of instru- ments like the backloading of allowances and the Mar- ket Stability Reserve, the European Parliament sent a clear message ahead of the COP21 climate negotia- tions in Paris", he added. A delegation of 15 MEPs will take part in the UN climate conference in Paris, France, from Monday to Friday. The European Parliament says that the 2015 Protocol must be legally binding and ambi- tious from the outset, with five-year commitment pe- riods. In a resolution voted in October, MEPs also pro- posed that a share of rev- enues from the EU carbon market allowances should be earmarked for climate fi- nance, and that aviation and shipping sectors should ini- tiate measures to curb their emissions. During the week, del- egation MEPs will meet, among others, UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) chair Mr Hoesung Lee, UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Executive Direc- tor Achim Steiner, and Ms Hela Cheikhrouhou, Green Climate Fund (GCF) Execu- tive Director. They will talk to key negotiators and meet counterparts from other parliaments, as well as local and international NGOs, industrial stakeholders, International Civil Avia- tion Organization (ICAO) and International Maritime Organization (IMO) repre- sentatives. In Paris, their challenge will be to help build trust between all Parties. We all need this agreement to happen, but not any agree- ment", said Environment Committee Chair Giovanni La Via (EPP, IT). "First and foremost, the 2-degree tar- get. We want to ensure that the agreement will be bind- ing, with a review clause every five years, allowing us to raise our ambition over time", he said. "The European Union must not be the only one to implement high standards for companies. Efforts must be shared by all, if needed by helping other countries get access to cleaner tech- nologies more quickly" he continued. "Also, finance will once again be the deal maker – or the deal killer. For us, climate finance should be dealt with as a dynamic ele- ment, and reflect changing environmental and eco- nomic realities. All parties who are in a position to do so should contribute, under a robust monitoring frame- work", he concluded.. "Europe is facing an uphill struggle" said Delega- tion Vice-Chair Matthias Groote (S&D, DE). "World- wide, we are already facing some 20 million refugees and there are more to come. An Oxford Univer- sity study estimates that up to 200 million climate refugees will be on the move by 2050. We have to act together now. Consist- ency of action and strong policies are paramount", he said. "By further strengthen- ing the Emissions Trading System (ETS) through the introduction of instru- ments like the backloading of allowances and the Mar- ket Stability Reserve, the European Parliament sent a clear message ahead of the COP21 climate negotia- tions in Paris", he added. Inside the EP Terrorism has cast a dark shadow over Paris, but in the City of Lights, a UN summit could finally make a difference... China overtook the United States as the world's lead carbon polluter in total volume in 2007, churning out 28% of the world's carbon in 2013. China is pledging to reduce emissions per unit of GDP by 60-65% by 2030 compared to 2005 levels, essentially becoming much more carbon efficient. The weak pledge is because the country is changing from a manufacturing-based economy to a consumer- oriented one, which will impact economic growth. Air pollution kills 1.4 million Chinese people each year. The United States is responsible for 14% of of global CO2 emissions. But on a per capita basis, each American produces 17 metric tons of CO2 each year on average, compared to 6 tons for the average Chinese. America has promised to cut emissions between 26-28%by 2025 compared to its 2005 baseline. But the Republican-controlled Congress has put spokes in the wheel for Barack Obama, passing resolutions gutting EPA rules designed to limit carbon emissions. Obama cannot win solidarity with the world on climate change without support from Congress. Europe is responsible for 10% of emissions, but its leaders signed a climate change pact to cut the EU's greenhouse gases to 40% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels, mirroring their proposal in Paris. Germany says it could reduce its own CO2 emissions 40% by 2020, 10 years ahead of schedule. But Poland is pushing back against the pact signed by its previous government, arguing that the country's coal-dependent economy will suffer disproportionately. Part 3 in our series on the European Parliament CAN HISTORY BE KEY TAKEAWAYS WHO estimates say death toll from climate change is already responsible for 141,000 deaths annually—by 2050, that number is projected to rise to 250,000. The World Bank says this will push 100 million people into extreme poverty by 2030. Earth now more than halfway toward exceeding the 2ºC threshold scientists warn will make global warming catastrophic and irreversible. In the 1990s, the Kyoto Protocol aimed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 5% of the 1990 levels – but the US did not ratify Kyoto; little was achieved in 2009 in Copenhagen. Paris is trying to get each country make its own national pledge instead of a collectively enforced goal to reduce everyone's carbon footprint from 8% a year to 5%: CO2 levels must stop growing by 2020 and then be halved by 2050. But everyone is off-track. T he bottom line is, we need an ambitious and binding global agreement. This is what we will push for that at the UN Global Climate Change Conference in Paris (COP21). Europe should lead the world in climate ambition as we are best placed to do so. But it is vital that the rest of the world, particularly the other big emitters, show the same level of commitment. Without a global and binding agreement, we in Europe risk losing key sectors to other parts of the world. A legally binding agreement would not only put the world on an ambitious path to combat climate change but would also prevent the possi- ble closure of industries in Europe whose production processes are energy intensive and lead to high emissions: manufactur- ing plants, skimmed milk powder plants, steelworks . If Europe has more stringent requirements than the rest of the world, these industries could uproot and set up less efficient factories in countries that are more lenient, and take the jobs with them. It would be extremely short-sighted of us to allow a situation to occur in which EU regulation is far more stringent than the rest of the world as this would lead to carbon leakage to oth- er less efficient production systems and could, in fact, lead to increased levels of emissions globally. Any agreement should enable all parties to pursue low-carbon, climate-resilient sustainable development. It is im- portant that the agreement is ambitious and inclusive and we must find ways to maximise participation by all parties. We must achieve a balance between food security and climate change objectives. In- novation towards the sustainable intensifi- cation of food production is an important step in this regard. Agriculture, livestock and land-use sectors must play their part in the transition to a safe, sustainable, low- carbon future. It is vital that we increase the share of renewables in our energy mix and this is an important part of our work in cre- ating an Energy Union in Brussels. In- creased energy efficiency is also some- thing that we need to strive for, and this will not only bring huge emission reduc- tions but also contribute greatly to Eu- ropean energy security. Technological innovation will help us move towards a low carbon energy sys- tem. Investing resources into research, development and demonstration is a must. Research efforts should be strengthened in further developing re- newable energy technologies, as well as a new generation of flexible renewable energy technologies such as biomass, geothermal, solar-thermal electricity and ocean energy technologies. Improv- ing the performance, reliability and ef- ficiency of energy technologies would greatly increase their viability and de- ployment. We want to see a legally binding and ambitious agreement to maintain EU competitiveness and allay fears about carbon leakage; we want a predictable framework put in place so as to encour- age investment; we want to ensure a stable climate system which is vital for food security, energy production, water and sanitation, infrastructure, the pres- ervation of biodiversity and ecosystems, and, indeed, global peace and prosper- ity. It all comes down to a key point - we want a real and concrete global commit- ment to put the world on a cost-effective emissions trajectory that is compatible with, and ensures we meet, our 2oC ob- jective. This is what Paris is all about. Seán Kelly (EPP, Ireland): The EU's ambition must be matched globally THE CUTS TO BE MADE 16 Inside the EP