The European Union Commission met in Brussels this week (March 8-9) and gave the rest of us a present. Nope, not a sweater, nor a cupcake, not even a puppy. (Although I would absolutely love to get a genuine 100% European Union cupcake!) But no, we got something much better than all of those… They created a common energy and climate change policy to follow through their said EU-wide goal to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 20% from 1990 levels by 2020!
Largely, the new statements are great. Plans are in the mix for a possible ban on filament lightbulbs (just like Australia), a BINDING goal for 20% increase of renewable energy use for the whole EU, diversification of energy sources and transporation systems within the region, 20% increase in efficiency through better monitoring of appliances and consumer products, plus all sorts of other initatives.
It’s got its challenges though. The policy has made the language on nuclear energy flexible, which has made it feasible for France to jump on. Also, it has allowed easier language for certain nations to have easier individualized emission targets. This concession is mostly justified by varying histories and economies of member states. Particularly, many post-Communist Eastern European countries are still running on heavy industry and coal, which often formed the backbone of any Soviet era development. According to the BBC, “a tenth of the world’s coal is under the ground here [in Poland], and more than 95% of Poland’s electricity is generated by burning it.” To try to remedy this concession, the EU is looking at carbon capture as its hesitant solution.
A little over a week ago, this 20% by 2020 business was just a hopeful, conceptual idea for EU targets. Now it’s on the table and member states of the EU will fight climate change on a broader scope together, with hopes to build a tangible global policy (including China, India, and US) soon enough.
Here’s some great articles about this latest move by the EU:
EU Sticks Out Neck in Global Climate Change Battle- EU Observer (haha I like this headline best)
Basic Q&A on the ““the most ambitious ever made” to tackle climate change- BBC
EU Agrees Renewable Energy Target- BBC (good comprehensive info on renewables policy)
Europeans Set Binding Energy Targets -New York Times (an American report on the policy)
Spain’s Navarra Embraces Green Energy- BBC (cool example of how Spain is going green)
EU Seeks Converts to Eco-stoicism- BBC (the irony of climate politics)
(EU Cupcake)
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