Fresh splits emerge over proposed cuts in greenhouse gases

Date: 22/05/1997

By Michael Mann

EU ENERGY ministers hope to send a clear political signal to the rest of the world next week that the Union is serious about cutting emissions of greenhouse gases.

But continuing divisions between EU governments are likely to weaken considerably the conclusions which emerge from their meeting next Tuesday (27 May), leaving agreement on firm priorities for action until after December's Kyoto world summit on climate change.

Senior diplomats have completed their deliberations on the issue, but are leaving it up to their political masters to take difficult decisions on what can and cannot be considered accepted EU policy on slowing the process of global warming.

“There are definitely internal divisions and discussions last week made it clear it will be difficult for the Dutch to draft conclusions which are acceptable to all,” said one Council of Ministers official.

Energy ministers will be the first to discuss ways of building on the agreement reached by their environment colleagues in March, which called for a 15&percent; reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2010 compared with 1990 levels.

But questions raised by a number of countries suggest they are still far from happy with the targets set and are keen for a greater note of realism to be injected into the debate.

“The Greeks and Spaniards, for example, are against over-strict references to the targets and the Italians are looking for the wording to be watered down to an undertaking merely to try and reach the targets,” said an official.

“The problem will be to find a suitable form of words to show that the energy sector is serious about doing something, while taking account of the realities of the need to produce energy,” added another.

There is also conflict over which tools for cutting emissions should be given priority. A group of countries led by Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium want a firm commitment to the use of fiscal incentives such as the energy tax currently under discussion in Finland.

But others, not least the UK and Greece, are suspicious of giving too much weight to tax policies in the document, with Athens apparently also casting doubts on whether the 15&percent; cut is truly achievable.

Diplomats from the Nordic countries believe they will succeed in persuading their partners to include tax measures in the EU's strategy, as much as anything else because there is a need to show a common front. “We detect a strong wish to express something in common. We face tough negotiations in Kyoto, so we need to close ranks,” explained an official.

Next week's Council conclusions will also include a commitment to increasing the share of renewables in the EU's energy mix, improving energy efficiency and making greater use of voluntary agreements with industry.

These are some of the ideas included in Energy Commissioner Christos Papoutsis' recent communication on 'the energy dimension of climate change'. Papoutsis found that continuing existing policies would increase carbon dioxide emissions by 8&percent; by 2010, compared to the planned 15&percent; cut.

Commission officials are currently working on a more general cross-sectoral paper on cutting greenhouse emissions, provisionally scheduled for publication in September.