Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on:the Green Paper on greenhouse gas emissions trading within the European Union, andthe Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on EU policies and measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions: Towards a European Climate Change Programme (ECCP)
Date: 2001-01-24
Institutions: European Committee of the Regions
Subjects: EU programme, climate change, polluter pays principle, prevention of pollution, stratospheric pollution

C 22/30

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

24.1.2000

Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on:

— the ‘Green Paper on greenhouse gas emissions trading within the European Union’, and

— the ‘Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on
EU policies and measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions: Towards a European Climate
Change Programme (ECCP)’

(2001/C 22/09)

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,

having regard to the Green Paper on greenhouse gas emissions trading within the European Union and
the Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on EU policies
and measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions: Towards a European Climate Change Programme
(ECCP) (COM(2000) 87 final and COM(2000) 88 final);

having regard to the decision of its Bureau of 12 April 2000 which directs Commission 4 — Spatial
Planning, Urban Issues, Energy and Environment — to draw up the relevant opinion;

the opinion of the Committee of the Regions on Climate change and energy, 18 September 1997, CdR
104/97 fin (1);

having regard to the Protocol on reducing greenhouse gas emissions adopted at the 3rd Conference of
the Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP3) held in Kyoto on 1-10 December
1997;

having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions on the Commission White Paper: ‘Energy
for the future: renewable sources of energy’ (COM(97) 599 final), 16 July 1998, CdR 57/98 fin (2);

having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions on Transport and CO2 — Developing a
Community approach, 11 March 1999, CdR 230/98 fin (3);

having regard to the opinion on Preparing for Implementation of the Kyoto Protocol, adopted on
18 November 1999, CdR 295/99 fin (4);

having regard to the draft opinion (CdR 189/2000 rev 1) adopted by Commission 4 on 7 July 2000, for
which the rapporteur was Mr Penttilä (FIN, PES),

adopted the following opinion at its 35th plenary session on 20 and 21 September 2000 (meeting of
21 September).

Views and recommendations of the Committee of the
Regions

1.

The Communication entitled Towards a European
Climate Change Programme

1.3.
The European Union must initiate a dialogue with local
and regional authorities on greenhouse gas emissions and
provide support for their climate protection efforts. With
regard to the bodies proposed by the Commission,
the
Committee of the Regions proposes that:

All

1.1.
relevant stakeholders must be consulted and
included in the planning and implementation of climate
programmes and strategies.

— the Steering Committee maintain close contact with the
Committee of the Regions while carrying out its work on
the European climate change programme;

1.2.
The EU’s new climate change programme should
consider local and regional authorities as a category of their
own, particularly with regard to energy and transport issues.

— regional and local authorities are represented on the
energy working groups (groups 2 and 3) and the transport
working group (group 4);

(1) OJ C 379, 15.12.1997, p. 11.
(2) OJ C 315, 13.10.1998, p. 5.
(3) OJ C 198, 14.7.1999, p. 3.
(4) OJ C 57, 29.2.2000, p. 81.

— a local and regional authority working group is included
among the coordination working groups to be set up at
a later date.

24.1.2000

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Official Journal of the European Communities

C 22/31

1.4.
The Community’s Member States should quickly reach
agreement on a minimum level for energy taxation. This is of
crucial importance to the implementation of national climate
strategies.

1.5.
After the Hague Conference the European Community
and its Member States must ratify the Kyoto Protocol and help
to ensure that a sufficient number of countries sign up to it,
both in terms of the actual number of signatory countries and
the quantity of greenhouse gases they produce.

Increasing the proportion of renewables in motor fuels
1.6.
and energy production as well as promoting combined heat
and electricity generation is essential. Such measures also
help to increase the Community’s energy self-sufficiency
and support other Community policies, such as agriculture,
employment and structural policy.

1.7.
Increasing energy saving and improving energy
efficiency are often more cost effective ways of reducing
emissions. Regional and local authorities have a significant
role to play in this respect, as they are responsible for
construction and infrastructure planning and the granting of
permits as well as public procurement. Regional and local
authorities are also responsible for public transport provision,
waste-water treatment and waste management.

1.8.
The Community and its Member States must make
determined efforts to support voluntary arrangements and
the local
provide information on emissions reduction at
and regional level. These might include climate protection
campaigns and energy audits, both of which are crucial to
achieving the emissions reduction objectives.

2.

The Green Paper on greenhouse gas emissions trad-
ing within the European Union

Trading emission rights or joint projects between
2.1.
industrialised and developing countries may be a useful

Brussels, 21 September 2000.

complement
industrialised
to the national measures of
countries, helping them to achieve their national climate
protection targets, but they must not be a substitute for
national efforts. Efforts at home must be the main means of
achieving reduction obligations in the industrialised countries.
The Commission proposal on launching an emissions trading
scheme within the Community on an experimental basis in
anticipation of the Kyoto Protocol deadline of 2008 is sensible.
An experimental approach would be appropriate as the trading
rules are still incomplete and there has been no experience to
date of international emissions trading.

2.2.
Participation in emissions trading trials should not be
restricted to certain sectors or gases. The most important
requirement for the emissions trading objectives is reliable
information on operators’ greenhouse gas emissions and their
development. This involves laying down criteria to ensure that
emissions balance sheets are comparable and comprehensible.

2.3.
During the trial efforts need to be made to ensure that
sufficient quantities of emissions are placed on the market for
both purchase and sale.

2.4.
Consideration should be given to including inciner-
ation of waste by municipalities or regions as part of the
emissions trading trials.

2.5. Municipal energy efficiency, particularly with regard to
the reduction of transport-related carbon dioxide emissions,
should also be included among the emissions trading objec-
tives.

Emissions trading can only work if strict sanctions are

2.6.
applied for non-compliance with the rules.

2.7.
Emissions trading should be developed further so as to
increase public and business awareness of climate protection
and to create an incentive for innovative business strategies in
pursuit of cost-effective ideas.

The President

of the Committee of the Regions

Jos CHABERT