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GLOBAL CLIMATE AND ENERGY GOVERNANCE: THE PARIS CLIMATE SUMMIT
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ble energy technology for some time now.
Austerity measures have had a highly negative
impact on all green services and industries in-
cluding the renewable energy sector. Spain, to
give only one example, has suffered the loss of
approximately half of the jobs that its renewable
energy sector once supported.
This state of affairs is significant in light of
the other two commitments contained in the
2030 Climate and Energy Framework package.
The first is that 27 % of the EU’s energy con-
sumption is to be covered by renewable energy
production by 2030. In regard to this goal, the
Commission has made clear that measures sup-
porting renewal energy adopted by Member
States “need to be well designed and propor-
tionate to avoid market distortions”. The sec-
ond is increasing energy efficiency by 27 %. As
the Commission had already stated in 2014 that
the EU was on track to improve efficiency by
18-19 % with measures then in place (the 2020
target being 20 %), it recommended setting a
30 % target for 2030. In the end, however, the
final target established for 2030 was whittled
down to 27 %.
Recommendations
– Strengthen EU legislation and provide the
funding necessary to ensure that the targets
established in the latest environmental policy
are achieved and that all citizens of the EU
live well within the planet’s ecological limits
by 2050. Short- and medium-term lines of
action required to meet this target include:
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Reinstating the air quality targets pro-
posed by the previous Commission.
Support for the implementation of the
plans outlined by the former Commission
regarding sustainable mobility, public
transportation upgrades and the promo-
tion of non-motorised transport such as
bicycles as well as the protocols it estab-
lished for the restriction of traffic, closing
of schools and suspension of other ser-
vices during periods of peak pollution –all
of which have demonstrated their effec-
tiveness– must be reaffirmed.
• Ensuring the success of the 2020 Strategy
for Biodiversity by means of sanctions for
non-compliance, increased funding for
the development of “green infrastruc-
ture” designed to restore degraded eco-
systems and enhanced support for eco-
logical agriculture currently contemplated
in the Common Agriculture Policy (PAC).
• Building on the framework provided by
the Paris Agreement, the EU should de-
velop a road map for achieving an 80-95
% reduction in emissions by 2050 that
includes binding emissions pledges on
the part of Member States. Such a plan
should establish specific measures to be
implemented by energy, transport, indus-
trial, agricultural, construction and other
applicable sectors and provide impetus
for action on the part of cities –which are
responsible for 70 % of the greenhouse
gases currently being generated around
the globe. The EU should likewise ensure
compliance with 2020 renewable energy
targets and establish targets for 2030
that put the EU on track to achieve the
goal of 100 % renewable energy con-
sumption by 2030. To ensure that com-
munities that are currently highly reliant
on coal and other polluting energy sourc-
es are not negatively impacted by this
strategy, plans should be developed to
foster the growth of green jobs and
guarantee an equitable transition to