Need to quickly address the potential of sinks / Net 55% compatible with Paris and extremely ambitious


“Despite many problems, an agreement on an ambitious 2030 climate target for the European Union is both desirable and possible during the EU summit on Thursday and Friday," said Dr Peter Liese, environmental spokesperson of the largest political group in the European Parliament (EPP, Christian Democrats), in the run-up to the EU summit. The summit will surely be dominated by the dispute over the budget of the recovery plan and the related rule of law mechanism as well as Brexit. Nevertheless, the German Presidency is determined to also address the issue of climate protection and, if possible, to find a conclusion. "The German Presidency and also Chancellor Angela Merkel are very determined and if there is a chance for an agreement, they will surely try to finalize it. I explicitly support this approach," said the MEP.

On behalf of his group, Peter Liese called for the potential of sinks to be addressed quickly. "The EU Commission has proposed that the climate target should no longer be adopted as a mere reduction target, but as a net target. This means that the removal of CO2 from the atmosphere, e.g. through sustainable forest management, humus creation in agriculture, or modern technologies for removing CO2 from the atmosphere, will be rewarded on a large scale for the first time.

We definitely have to address this, because experts believe that we will need negative emissions after 2050 and if we do not quickly create the right framework now, we will not achieve this goal. Unfortunately, the a net target was considered by Greens and environmental organisations as a way of weakening the climate target.  I strongly oppose this thinking. Although I agree with the critics that there must be no loophole and that very precise rules are needed, in the end the climate does not care whether we emit less or take CO2 from the atmosphere. Due to the extreme negative reaction of the Greens and environmental organisations on the word net, the European Parliament has not even addressed the issue of sinks before 2050 in its mandate. This is a pity in a one-sided debate and I very much hope that the Council will correct this mistake by adopting the Commission's target including the wording net", said Liese.

Liese contradicted the view that a net 55% target is not ambitious and is not consistent with the Paris Agreement. "We have been working on climate protection policy in the EU since 1990. Since then, we have saved 25% of emissions, often with huge challenges attached. I can really testify to this because I have been involved in the introduction of the emission trading system, the Ecodesign Directive and many other pieces of legislation such as renewable energy and energy efficiency. If we achieve another 30% in 10 years, it will be very huge task. The Commission has convincingly demonstrated in its impact assessment that it is also in line with the Paris agreement. I therefore think it would be very welcomed if the Council were to agree on the Commission's proposal or a version close to the Commission's proposal," concluded Liese.