Trio Presidency European Council - Can Germany/Portugal/Slovenia deliver on Climate and Energy?

On 1 July the rotating presidency of the European Council is moving for one and a half years to Germany (1/July/2020), Portugal (1/January/2021) and Slovenia (1/July/2021). The European Council defines the EU's overall political direction and consits of heads of state or government of the 27 EU member states, the European Council President and the President of the European Commission. The three countries that will take over the presidency from 1 July 2020 drew up a unified action programme for the coming years. We take a look at their agenda and critically assess whether or not it can bring about a boost for the energy transition in times of COVID-19.


It took some time and COVID-19 also did not help, but finally on 19 June 2020 the trio programme of the European Union (1/July/2020 - 31/December/2021) has been agreed. The programme is dominated by the fight against the Coronavirus. The trio wants Europe to emerge `stronger, fairer,´and more sustainable´from the pandemic. It agreed that measures of climate protection and the energy sector shall be at the forefront of the economic reconstruction after the crisis, taking into account in particular the goal of climate-neutrality of the EU by 2050 (p.3).

The details of the programme on energy, however, mainly `look forward´ to initiatives by the Commission such as: a new approach for exploiting Europe’s offshore renewable energy potential, innovative fuels, measures to help achieve smart sector integration, including a facilitated decarbonisation of the gas sector and adapting the existing Trans-European Networks for Energy (TEN-E) Regulation to the perspectives of a climate-neutral economy to arrive at a fit-for-purpose energy infrastructure (p.15).While it is good to see that the future Council might be in general behind these future proposals, this is barely more than a matter of course.

However, in terms of greening the transport sector there seems to be more ambition. The programme states that `safe, innovative and connective transport, including promotion of alternative sustainable fuels and drivetrains, will be a priority; as will the interoperability and sustainability of the European connectivity through the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T). The Trio looks forward to the Strategy for sustainable and smart mobility and is committed to start working on key proposals´ (p.15).

The trio wants to submit an Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) update to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2020, in line with EU obligations under the Paris agreement. However, this shall only be done `after a thorough impact assessment´(p.18). Energy consumers shall be empowered, but the Council does not take an own initiative here. Similarly, the Council welcomes the Circular Economy Action Plan, which is part of the green new deal, but does not aim to become pro-active on that one either. In the context of the Just Transition Mechanism, the three Presidencies are also committed to the timely adoption of the legislative proposal for a Just Transition Fund, which has been discussed earlier on this blog.

While the programme does not elaborate on it, the main issue for the presidencies in terms of climate seems to be to translate the new long-term climate goal of the EU (climate neutrality by 2050) into a sharpened mid-term goal for greenhouse gas emission reductions by 2030. Under current plans these emissions shall be reduced by 40 % by 2030 compared to 1990 levels, but the European Parliament already pointed out that 65 % compared to 1990 levels would be needed by 2030 to meet the long-term climate neutrality goal of 2050. The Commission only wants to come forward with a proposal after the summer break.

The reactions to the programme are mixed. A recently released report by 22 German university professors in reaction to the programme was rather critical in tone and demanded a new way to reach climate-neutrality. In essence they are suggesting to establish a price on CO2 in all relevant walks of life. While the report stays explicity neutral on the question of whether this should be achieved via a CO2 tax or an emissions trading scheme, it nonetheless shows a pathway for how this aim can be achieved with amendments to legislation that is already in place. In essence, the report says, t0his could be done via a cross-sectoral EU-Emissions Trading Scheme (EU-ETS). While the existing EU-ETSmainly targets the energy and industrial sectors as well as aviation to some extend, the report suggests to expand this `functional and effective´instrument to the heating/cooling and transport sectors (p. 9/10). To make this a priority will be a long-shot, given that in the programme of the three presidencies the abbreviation CO features several times, but not in the context of CO2, but rather of COVID-19, which has come to overlay climate discussions.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

New EU Gas Package Proposal - A Legal Analysis

Image
  Today the European Commission presented its proposals for a new gas package, called the ` Hydrogen and Decarbonized Gas Markets´-package. The package consists of a revised Gas Directive (COM(2021) 803 final) (hereafter: rGD), a revised Gas Regulation (COM(2021) 804 final) (hereafter: rGR) and a Regulation on the Reduction of Methane Emissions in the Energy Sector (COM(2021) 805 final) (hereafter: MER). Today`s proposal are only the beginning of a longer legislative process, as the package needs to be discussed with and resolved by the Council and the European Parliament. However, it is crucial in setting the tone and the main pillars. Can the package deliver on hydrogen regulation, decarbonization and gas security of supply? This blog post takes a look and provides a legal analysis of the proposed revisions.
Read more

Dutch Elections: Energy and Climate Considerations

Image
    By Ceciel Nieuwenhout, Postdoctoral researcher at GCELS and City Council member for GroenLinks On 17 March 2021 the people of the Netherlands will elect a new House of Representatives ( Tweede Kamer) , which also kickstarts the formation process for a new government ( regering). This blogpost shows what is at stake regarding climate and energy policy, focusing on the election programmes of the different political parties. This blog consists of three parts. First, an introduction to the political landscape of the Netherlands will be given. Second, the context of these elections and the position of energy and climate policy therein will be illustrated. The third part of the blog shows the positions of the parties on various themes: general climate targets and international cooperation; the different opinions on the energy mix of the future; developments in hydrogen, infrastructure, storage and CCS. It concludes with some remarks on the built environment, and finally, the question “w
Read more

Independence of German National Regulatory Authority (NRA) called into Question - Case Comment C-718/18 Commission v Germany

Image
The Court of Justice of the European Union found on 2 September 2021 in case C-718/18 that Germany failed to properly transpose various provisions of the main EU Energy Directives of the Third Energy Package, namely 2009/72 (electricity) and 2009/73 (gas). Especially the allocation of responsibilities in German energy law ( Energiewirtschaftsgesetz EnWG ) is not in line with the envisaged responsibilities reserved exclusively for national regulatory authorities. In other words: the court found that there is too much possibility for political influence on decisions on network-bound energy in Germany. But what does this mean in detail? Will German Energy Law now have to undergo fundamental revision?
Read more