Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on the Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: Winning the Battle Against Global Climate Change
Date: 2005-10-12
Institutions: European Committee of the Regions
Subjects: EU environmental policy, climate change, reduction of gas emissions, soft energy

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Official Journal of the European Union

4.4.2006

Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on the Communication from the Commission to the
the European Economic and Social Committee and the
Council,

the European Parliament,
Committee of the Regions: Winning the Battle Against Global Climate Change

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,

(2006/C 81/07)

Having regard to the Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the
European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: Winning the Battle Against
Global Climate Change (COM(2005) 35 final);

Having regard to the decision of the European Commission of 9 February 2005 to consult it on this
subject, under the first paragraph of Article 265 of the Treaty establishing the European Community;

Having regard to the decision of its Bureau, of 22 February 2005, to ask the Commission for Sustainable
Development to draw up an opinion on this subject;

Having regard to the conclusions of the Council of 22 and 23 March 2005, and of the Environment
Council of 7 March 2005;

Having regard to the European Parliament resolution of 12 May 2005 on the Seminar of Governmental
Experts on Climate Change;

Having regard to its opinion of 18 November 1999 on the Communication from the Commission to the
Council and the European Parliament, Preparing for Implementation of the Kyoto Protocol, COM(1999) 230
final — CdR 295/1999 fin (1);

Having regard to its opinion of 21 September 2000 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), COM(2000) 87 final and COM(2000) 88 final — (CdR 189/2000 fin (2));

Having regard to its draft opinion (CdR 65/2005 rev. 1) adopted on 28 June 2005 by the Commission
for Sustainable Development (rapporteur: José Macário Correia, Leader of Tavira Municipal Council (PT/
EPP));

Whereas:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

there is a need to set out medium- and long-term strategies in order to win the battle against
climate change in the EU and in cooperation with the international community;

the EU Council of Ministers stated in 1996 that it ‘believes that global average temperatures should
not exceed two degrees above pre-industrial levels’;

the benefits of limiting the increase in the global average temperature to 2°C outweigh the costs of
emission-reducing policies;

it is imperative to use the most efficient and least-cost mix of adjustment and mitigation actions
over time to meet our environmental objectives while maintaining our economic competitiveness;

climate change is a global problem that also overlaps with the remit of regional and local authori-
ties; the Kyoto Protocol, which was signed by the EU and its Member States, is an international
agreement that obliges Member States, and hence also regional and local authorities, to take action;

adopted the following opinion unanimously, at its 61st plenary session, held on 12 and 13 October
2005 (meeting of 12 October):

(1) OJ C 107, 3.5.2002, p. 76.
(2) OJ C 192, 12.8.2002, p. 59.

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1. Views of the Committee of the Regions

The Committee of the Regions

1.11
highlights the importance of all vehicles using cleaner
fuels, including companies' and public administrations' fleets;
invites public administrations to take the lead in achieving
cleaner fleets;

1.1 welcomes the Communication, which presents an accu-
rate assessment of the current situation and analyses both the
dangers posed by climate change and the instruments designed
to combat this phenomenon effectively;

1.2 welcomes the entry into force of the Kyoto Protocol,
the first phase in a global strategy to combat climate change;

1.12
considers that providing facilities for selective waste
collection, and public support for this practice, will both help
to achieve these objectives;

1.13
considers that sound energy performance must be a
factor in the construction of new buildings and the renovation
of existing ones;

reiterates its support for an ambitious EU policy in this

1.3
field;

highlights the need for a considerable increase in the
1.4
number of countries taking part in the battle against climate
change — all the main sectors responsible for greenhouse-gas
emissions should be involved, particularly the energy produc-
tion, air and maritime transport sectors;

1.5 wishes to express its concern at the consequences of
the lack of action at world level;

1.6
deplores the fact that some Member States are a long
way from achieving the targets set for them under the ‘-8 %’
Community objective as defined in the Kyoto Protocol, but
considers it important to assist such countries in progressing
towards this objective;

reinforces

the Commission's

recommendation that
1.7
awareness-raising campaigns should be promoted, to help to
increase public interest and concern about this issue, encoura-
ging more sustainable lifestyles. It also highlights the impor-
tance of implementing and developing school projects in this
field, because schools are considered to reflect society at large;

that

considers

1.8
take
account of energy-efficiency objectives — by promoting a mix
of compatible and complementary activities — in order to cut
distances travelled and consequently fuel consumption;

spatial planning policy must

highlights the importance of preserving and creating
1.9
green spaces, which must be incorporated into the strategic
planning of urban areas; increasing the size of wooded areas is
extremely important to making the process of carbon seques-
tration from the atmosphere more efficient;

supports the creation of more sustainable mobility
1.10
patterns,
in which establishing pedestrianised zones and
banning or reducing motor-vehicle traffic in city centres play a
crucial role; it also considers that an attractive public transport
system should be set up, to a large extent complementing indi-
vidual transport and, in many cases, replacing it;

1.14
authorities,
climate change through the measures described above.

highlights the responsibilities of all local and regional
to combat

together with national governments,

2. Recommendations of the Committee of the Regions

The Committee of the Regions

2.1
points to the need for the Commission to promote the
battle against climate change at all levels, including the local
and regional levels;

2.2
calls for measures to prevent and combat forest fires to
be stepped up, as a decisive means of controlling greenhouse-
gas emissions;

calls for strengthened measures for

the study and
2.3
constant monitoring of European glaciers insofar as they are
fragile ecosystems and highly sensitive to climatic change;

urges that businesses be given substantial

financial
2.4
incentives to encourage them to use ‘clean technologies’ or to
convert existing technologies;

advocates that an efficient monitoring policy be put in
industrial activity, to

2.5
place as part of the efforts to control
ensure legitimacy for the battle against climate change;

2.6
supports incorporating alternative energies, such as
biomass, into buildings' heating systems, and that this should
apply to all sectors,
including public administrations; points
out, in this context, that existing sources of energy should be
used more efficiently, for instance through the extended use of
co-generation. This would lead to lower emission rates per unit
of energy produced;

2.7
calls for incentives for the preferential consumption of
highly energy-efficient products or of those produced using
renewable energies;

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Official Journal of the European Union

4.4.2006

recommends that subsidies for activities contributing to

2.8
climate change be abolished;

supports and reiterates the Council proposal to set
2.9
targets for the post-2012 period; like the Council, it considers
that for developed countries,
it would be appropriate to set
reduction targets of between 15 % and 30 % by 2020 in rela-
tion to the reference values established by the Kyoto Protocol;
beyond this date, it recommends that values should be set in
line with the spirit of the conclusions adopted by the Environ-
ment Council (60 % to 80 % by 2050);

Brussels, 12 October 2005.

2.10
environment create incentives for combating climate change;

the thematic strategy for the urban

proposes that

recommends that the cost/benefit analysis of limiting
2.11
temperature increases to 2oC should be studied/researched in
greater detail; the concentration of greenhouse gases required
to achieve the objective of 2°C and the costs associated with
such a reduction must be established more precisely;

2.12
suggests that towns continue to sign up to the LA21
process, and focus more on implementing this type of strategy.

The President

of the Committee of the Regions

Peter STRAUB

Opinion of the Committee of the Regions Communication from the Commission to the Council
and the European Parliament The 2005 Review of the EU Sustainable Development Strategy:
Initial Stocktaking and Future Orientations

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,

(2006/C 81/08)

Having regard to the Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament
on The 2005 Review of the EU Sustainable Development Strategy: Initial Stocktaking and Future Orientations,
COM(2005) 37 final;

Having regard to the decision of the European Commission on 9 February 2005 to consult it on this
subject, under Article 265(1) of the Treaty establishing the European Community;

Having regard to the decision taken by its Bureau on 12 April 2005 to instruct the Commission for
Sustainable Development to draw up the opinion on the subject;

Having regard to the Communication from the Commission on A Sustainable Europe for a Better World: A
European Union Strategy for Sustainable Development (Commission's proposal to the Gothenburg European Council),
COM(2001)264 final;

Having regard to the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the
Council, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on Towards a
global partnership for sustainable development, COM(2002) 82 final;

Having regard to the Communication from the Commission of 15 January 2002 to the Spring European
Council in Barcelona on 15 and 16 March 2002, at which a new impetus was given to the strategy,
adopted two years earlier at the Lisbon summit (COM(2002) 14), to make Europe the world's most
dynamic, competitive and sustainable knowledge-based economy;

Having regard to the exploratory opinion from the European Economic and Social Committee adopted
on 28 April 2004, NAT/229 — CESE 661/2004;

Having regard to the Declaration on Guiding Principles for Sustainable Development from the European
Council on 16 and 17 June 2005;