15.3.93 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities NoC73/73
ableaswellasbeinginconsistentwiththeCouncil
Resolutionof18June1992.TheCommitteethereforecallsontheCommissiontoimmediatelydrawthe
necessaryconclusions.
DoneatBrussels,28January1993.
TheChairman
oftheEconomicandSocialCommittee
SusanneTIEMANN
OpinionontheproposalforaCouncilDecisionforamonitoringmechanismofCommunity
C02andothergreenhouse-gas emissions
(93/C73/13)
On22June1992theCouncildecidedtoconsulttheEconomicandSocialCommittee,
underArticle130softheTreatyestablishingtheEuropeanEconomicCommunity,onthe
abovementioned proposal.
TheSectionforProtectionoftheEnvironment ,PublicHealthandConsumerAffairs,which
wasresponsibleforpreparingtheCommittee'sworkonthesubject,adopteditsOpinionon
5January1993.TheRapporteurwasMrSilva.
Atits302ndPlenarySession(meetingof28January1993),theEconomicandSocial
CommitteeadoptedthefollowingOpinionwithnovotesagainstand4abstentions.
—inrelation—withdueaccountforitsmorespecific
nature—totheCommission'sproposedstrategyfor
limitingemissionsandimprovingenergyefficiency
comprisingtheSAVEandAltenerprogrammesand
thepossibleadoptionoffiscalmeasures(1).
1.2.TheCommitteehasalwayswelcomedthemajor
workandresearchaccomplishedinthisfield,theposi­
tiveexperiencesgleaned,thesignificantdataandanaly­
sesthathavebeencompiled,andtheeffortstoovercome
difficultiesanddifferencesofopinionandtoagreeon
commonmeasures.Theseriousdelaysareduebothto
thecomplexityoftheproblemandtothecontinuing
disagreements betweenMemberStatesanddifferent
sectorsonthemeasurestobetakenjointlyorindividu­
ally,takingaccountofthedifferingdevelopmentand1.Backgroundtotheproposal
1.1.Inordertoassessproperlyalltheimplications
ofthepresentproposal,itshouldbeconsidered :
—inrelationtopreviousECactivityinthisarea,and
inparticulartheundertakingmadebytheEnergy/
Environment Councilof29October1990tostabil­
izeC02emissionsattheir1990levelsbytheyear
2000;
—inthelightofpresentemissionsandlikelytrendsin
thenextfewyears;
—incloseconnectionwith(a)theon-goinginter­
nationaldebateonthissubject,(b)theestablishment
andharmonization ofmonitoringandmeasuring
methodsatnational,ECandinternational level,
and(c)thewillingnessandcommitmentofthe
MemberStatesandotherinterestedparties,includ­
ingthesocio-economic groupswhoaredirectly
involved;HDoc.SEC(91)1744final,doc.COM(92)246final,doc.
COM(92)180,182and226final.

NoC73/74 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities 15.3.93
3.C02andothergreenhouse-gas emissionsinEurope
andtheworld:dataandassessmentspollutionlevelsandtheneedtosharethecostsand
benefitsfairly.TheCommitteethereforewelcomesthe
presentproposalasamajorcontributiontoovercome
theseproblemsbymeansofeffective,coordinatedand
integratedmeasures. 3.1.Greenhouseeffectandeffectontheclimate
3.1.1.Worldcarbon-dioxide levelshaveincreasedby
20%overthelasttenyears,andothergreenhouse
gases(methane,nitrogendioxides,CFC)arealsoon
theincrease.Thisinfluencestheearth'stemperature .
AccordingtotheIPCC,thistemperaturehasrisenover
thelasthundredyearsbybetween0,3°and0,6°.A
doublingofcarbondioxidelevelsoverthenextfew
decadescouldtriggerafurtherincreaseof1,5°to4,5°,
andthiswouldhaveveryseriousconsequences .
3.2.CO2emissionsbycountryandgroupsofcountries
3.2.1.In1989,CO^emissionsaccountedfor61%of
greenhouse-gas emissions.TheECwasresponsiblefor
13%,theUSAfor23%,EasternEuropefor25%,
andJapanfor5%(*).Recentforecastssuggestthatif
nothingisdone,C02emissionsarelikelytoincrease
by13,5%overtheperiod1990to2000(2).Overthe
period1986to1990ECemissionsroseby4%,after
havingremainedstableovertheperiod1970to1985(3):
thesevariationsarelargelyareflectionofoilprice
trends.2.Topicalityandgistoftheproposal
2.1.Thegestationperiodoftheproposalhas
coincidedwith:
1)theintensificationofthedebateonthegreenhouse
effect,butalsoanapproximation ofpositionsatEC
andinternationallevelasregardsthestepstobe
takenandthecoststobebornebydifferent
countries;
2)theformulationofanumberofprocedures,time­
tablesanddeadlinesintheproposal,whichwill
makeiteasierfortheMemberStatestoacceptand
implementit;
3)thedebatesbefore,duringandaftertheRioSummit,
whichhavehelpedtoclarifyinternationalpublic
perceptionsofthisproblem.
2.2.TheCommunityenvisagesapackageof
measures,includingthemonitoringmechanism,tostab­
ilizeECemissionsofC02andothergreenhousegases
bytheyear2000attheir1990levels.Thisisseenas
aminimum,feasibletargetandisinlinewiththe
ConventiononclimatechangesignedattheRioSummit
andrecentlyratifiedbytheUnitedStates.
2.3.TheCommissionisdrawingpartlyonthefind­
ingsofexperimentsdoneoveranumberofyears(such
astheCorinedatamonitoringprogramme),Eurostat
statistics,andworkdonebytheOrganizationforEcon­
omicCooperationandDevelopment (OECD)andthe
Intergovernmental PanelonClimateChange(IPCC)on
theharmonization ofmonitoringmethods.Themoni­
toringmechanismistobebasedonfivekeyelements:
1)nationalprogrammes,tobedrawnupbytheMem­
berStates;
2)evaluationoftheseprogrammesbytheCommission
inthelightoftheECstabilizationagreement;
3)follow-uptothenationalprogrammesbymeansof
adatareportingsystem;
4)establishment ofaninventoryofgreenhouse-gas
emissions;
5)setting-upofaconsultativecommitteeofMember
Staterepresentatives .3.3.Relationbetweenpopulation,resourcesandC02
emissions
3.3.1.20%oftheworld'spopulationconsumes80%
ofresourcesandproduces80%ofpollution.Themost
highlyindustrializedcountriesarethemainsourceof
greenhouse-gas emissions:theUnitedStates,with5%
oftheworldpopulation,uses25%ofallenergyand
releases23%ofallcarbondioxideemissions.India,
with16%oftheworld'spopulation,ownsonly1%of
worldresources,uses3%ofallenergyandemits3%
ofallcarbondioxide.However,onemustbearinmind
thatthedevelopingcountriesaregoingtoincreasetheir
emissionsrapidlyastheirenergyconsumptionrises.
Within30or40years,theuseofcarbonfuelsasan
energysourcetosupporteconomicgrowthinChina
couldonitsowndoubleman-madeemissionsofcarbon
dioxide,eventhoughpercapitagasemissionsinChina
willremainsignificantlybelowthoseofsuchcountries
asItalyandFrance.
4.Generalcomments
4.1.Subjecttothecommentswhichfollow,theCom­
mitteeendorsesboththeproposalitselfandthecon­
siderationsonwhichitisbased.
(')Source:doc.SEC(91)1744final.
(2)EnergyinEurope:Aviewtothefuture(September1992,EC
CommissionDGXVII).
(3)EurostatEnvironmentStatistics1989.

15.3.93 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities NoC73/75
4.2.Communityaction
4.2.1.TheCommission Communication statesthat
thedecisiontolimitemissionsispromptedbythefact
thatthe'removalofC02fromemissionsatpresentis
notonlyuneconomicbutatthetechnicallevelsuch
methodsarefarfrombeingsufficientlydeveloped.'^)
Hencetheonlypracticalsolutionintheshortand
mediumtermistolimitthegrowinguseoffossilfuels,
improveenergyefficiency,andpromoterenewable
energysources.4.2.6.Theprincipleisparticularlyimportantwith
referencetodamagecausedbyenergyuse;thisjustifies
thepromotionofpreventivemeasuressuchasimprove­
mentsinenergyefficiency.
4.2.7.InsupportingthemechanismandtheCom­
munitystrategy,theCommitteealsoendorsesthecom­
monobjectiveofstabilizingemissions.Threetypesof
actionareenvisaged,basedontheprinciplethatbur­
densshouldbesharedfairly:
1)stepping-upofnon-fiscalmeasures(SAVEand
Altenerprogrammes);
2)economicandfiscalinstruments,withapossible
taxtoencourageenergysavingandareductionin
emissions,butwithoutcausinganincreaseinthe
overalltaxburden;
3)nationalimplementingandadditionalmeasures.4.2.2.Nevertheless ,theCommitteesuggeststhatthe
CommunitygivefirmersupporttoECresearchand
developmentandtonon-polluting technologiesand
processesfortheuseoffossilfuelenergy,insofaras
thiswillcontinuetoplayaroleinthefuture.
4.3.Communityactionandinternationalcooperation
4.2.3.WhiletheCommitteecansupportthisprag­
maticandrealisticapproach,itshouldbebackedbya
commitmenttomakeupforlosttimebyadoptingand
implementingtheproposedmonitoringmechanismvery
soon.Appropriatefinancialinstrumentswillalsobe
neededtohelpthoseMemberStateswhichwillfindit
difficulttoactintheshorttimeallowedthem.4.3.1.TheCommitteestressestheneedforaglobal
solution.CO,emissionsaffectthewholeplanetand
thereforecallforaglobalsolutionwhichshouldinvolve
alldevelopedanddevelopingcountries.Althoughthe
developedworldhashithertobeenthemainCO,pro­
ducerandpolluter,allthesignsarethatthedeveloping
nations'C02emissionsaresettoincreaserapidlyin
thenextfewyears.Totakeaccountofthevarious
measuresadoptedandthedifficultiesencounteredin
differentareas,ECstrategyshouldthereforeencourage
allcountries(fromthemostindustrializedtothoseof
EasternEuropeandthedevelopingworld)tospeedup
thedefinitionandimplementation ofmeasuressharing
thesameaims.4.2.4.TheCommittee'sNovember1989Opinionon
theEuropeanEnvironmentAgency(2)expressedserious
concernatthedelaysandoppositiontotheestablish­
mentoftheAgencyandthefailuretoagreeonwhere
itshouldbebased.Thisconcernhasbeenreiteratedin
subsequentOpinions.ItisclearthattheEnvironment
Agencywouldprovidethebestframeworkforthepro­
posedmonitoringmechanism .ThepresentCommission
proposalisimportantpartlybecauseitseekstoreduce
thesedelaysanddifficultiesbybringinginaCommunity
mechanismtomonitorandactonC02andothergreen­
house-gasemissionsatbothECandnationallevel.4.4.CooperationwithdevelopingcountriesandEast­
ernEurope
4.2.5.TheCommitteeconsidersthattheproposed
DecisionshouldbebasedonArticles130rand130sof
theEECTreaty.UndertheseArticles,theCommunity
musttakeaccountofthepotentialbenefitsandcosts
ofactionoroflackofaction,andapplythe'polluter
pays'principle.Thismeansinternalizingtheexternal
costsofenvironmentaldamage(3).4.4.1.TheCommitteeconsidersthataspecialeffort
shouldbemadetoinvolvethedevelopingcountriesin
suchaction,byframingappropriateagreementsand
measuresassoonaspossible,includingthetransferof
technologyandfinancialresources.
4.4.2.EastEuropeancountriesproduceasignificant
proportionofgreenhouse-gas emissions.TheCom­
mitteeconsidersthatexperience-swapping andcooper­
ation(4)shouldbeundertakenwiththesecountriesas
amatterofurgency,soastoavoidtheproblemsthat
havebesetothercountrieswithheavyconcentrations
(!)Doc.SEC(91)1744final,p.1.
(2)OJNoC56,7.3.1990.
(4)UnderthePhareprogrammeandEuropeanenergycharter. (3)OJNoC332,31.12.1990.

NoC73/76 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities 15.3.93
ofindustryandenergy.Themainaimshouldbeto
encouragemovestowardsenergyefficiencyand
environmental andtechnologicalrehabilitation ,taking
accountofthecomplicatedanddifficulteconomic
restructuringfacingthesecountries.Furtherdetailsoftheircontentwouldbehelpfulwith
aviewtodrawinguptheCommunityprogramme .
Althoughdetailsareavailableinotherdocuments,they
wouldbemostusefulforallconcernedandwouldin
nowayundermineMemberStates'freedomtoprepare
andadapttheprogrammestotheirparticularcircum­
stances.Asregardstheadditionalnationalpro­
grammes,itisnotclearwhetherthereportsrefersolely
topastactivity(e.g.in1990)ortofull-scaleprogrammes
withcommitments andmeasurestobeundertakenin
ordertostabilizeemissionsat1990levelsbytheyear
2000.Yetagain,theymightbespecificsupplementary
programmestotakeaccountofdifferentlocaland
sectoralsituations.TheCommitteefeelsthatamore
precisedefinitionofthecontentandobjectivesofthe
twotypesofnationalprogrammeswouldhelptomake
themeasiertounderstandandaddtotheireffectiveness .5.Specificcommentsandrecommendations
5.1.TheCommitteewouldmakethefollowing
pointsonthestructureofthenewmechanismandthe
proposedprocedures.
5.2.Article1—Monitoringmechanism5.4.2.Insomecountriesenvironmentpolicyisthe
responsibilityoftheregionalauthorities.Ifthemonitor­
ingsystemistooperatesmoothly,effectivecooperation
mustbesecuredfromalltherelevantauthorities,
especiallyintheregions.TheCommitteeisconcerned
aboutthis,andurgesthatthenecessaryprovisionsbe
adopted.5.2.1.TheCommitteeendorsestheproposalandthe
highlyrealisticobjective,butfeelsthatconcerntotake
accountofdifferinginterestsandsituationsmayhave
ledtotheestablishmentofanexcessivelydistantdead­
line.Themainworkonachievingstabilizationat1990
levelsbytheyear2000,willonlybeginin1994(the
datelaiddownforthedrawing-upofnationalpro­
grammesandthesettingofnationaltargetsfor1996,
1998and2000).Iftherearefurtherdelays,disagree­
mentsorfailurestocomply,theoperationcouldfailto
achievethedesiredresults.Toavoidsuchdifficulties
andfragmentation ofefforts,itmightbenecessary
tobuttressthelongertermprogrammeswithshorter
nationalandECplanslayingdownmid-termobjectives
whichshouldbefixedandmonitoredjointly.5.5.Article4—Firstevaluationofnationalpro­
grammes
5.5.1.Thisgivesaclearpictureoftheprocedurefor
assessingnationalprogrammes,theirdovetailingwith
Communityactionandanyadditionalmeasures.It
wouldbeusefultoclarifywhethertheseadditional
measuresaretobenational,ECorboth.Inanycase
theuseofbothtypesofadditionalmeasureswillbe
extremelyhelpfulforattainingthestabilizationtarget,
withdueregardforburdensharing.Fortheadditional
nationalmeasures,preferenceshouldbegiventouseof
thecommitteeprocedurelaiddowninArticle8.5.3.Article2—Definitions
5.6.Article5—Inventoryanddatareporting5.3.1.TheCommitteeagreeswiththedefinitions,
which,however,onlyconcernthefollowingterms:CO,
emission,CommunityC02stabilizationtarget,national
C02emissionsobjectives,nationalprogramme,and
othergreenhouse-gas emissions.Thedefinitionsare
verybriefandpartial,andonlyexplainthegeneral
meaningoftheterms.Eitherhere,inanotherArticle
orintheintroduction ,itwouldbeusefultohaveamore
concreteexplanationofthecontentofthemeasures.
Definitionsof'mid-termworkplans'or'mid-term
deadlines'couldalsobeinsertedinlinewiththecom­
mentsmadeonArticle1.5.6.1.TheCommitteeispleasedthattheECand
MemberStatesaretopreparetheinventoryofemissions
jointly,andthataccountistobetakenofprogressmade
oninternationalmethodsforemissionsaccounting.It
alsoendorsestheotherpartsofthisArticle.
5.4.Article3—NationalandadditionalCOzemission
programmes5.7.Article6—Implementation ofnationalpro­
grammes
5.4.1.ThisArticleonlygivesageneralexplanation
ofthepossiblecontentofthenationalprogrammes .5.7.1.TheCommitteeendorsesthesendingofatri­
ennialreportfromtheCommissiontotheCouncil

15.3.93 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities NoC73/77
andParliamentsurveyingprogressandproblemsinthe
MemberStatesandintheCommunityasawhole.
However,iturgesthattheCommitteealsobesentthe
reportjustasithasbeensentthepresentproposal.gratethedatareporting'ascloselyaspossible'tothe
reviewprocessofnationalenergypolicies.
5.9.Article8—Consultativecommittee
5.9.1.Asaconsultativebody,thiscommitteewill
playasignificantpartinforgingcontactsandthe
exchangeofinformation,thushelpingtoavoiddelays
anddisagreements ,andfacilitatingcooperation,data
reporting,andtheimplementation ofthemeasures.5.8.Article7—C02emissionmonitoringandnational
energypoliciesreview
5.8.1.ThisisanimportantArticle,designedtointe­
DoneatBrussels,28January1993.
TheChairman
oftheEconomicandSocialCommittee
SusanneTIEMANN
APPENDIX
totheopinionoftheEconomicandSocialCommittee
Rejectedamendment
Thefollowingamendmentwasrejectedbutreceivedmorethan25%ofthevotescast:
Paragraph3.2.1
Replaceallthewordsafterthecoloninthepenultimateandlastlinesbythefollowing:
'althoughthesevariationsmayappeartoreflectoilpricetrends,amoresignificantfactorforthestability
overtheearlierperiodwastheshiftofconsumptionfromoilandcoaltonaturalgasandnuclearenergy
whiletotalenergyconsumptionwasincreasing.'
Reasons
Selfevident.
Voting
For:18,against:40,abstentions :'5.