Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on The effects of international agreements to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on the industrial change processes in Europe
Date: 2006-04-20
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: ESC opinion, EU environmental policy, economic consequence, reduction of gas emissions, secondary sector

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Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on The effects of international agree-
ments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on the industrial change processes in Europe

(2006/C 185/12)

On 10 February 2005, the European Economic and Social Committee, acting under Rule 29(2) of its Rules
of Procedure, decided to draw up an opinion on: The effects of international agreements to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions on the industrial change processes in Europe.

The Consultative Commission on Industrial Change, which was responsible for preparing the Committee's
work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 30 January 2006. The rapporteur was Mr Zbořil and the co-
rapporteur was Mr Činčera.

At its 426th plenary session held on 20 and 21 April 2006 (meeting of 20 April), the European Economic
and Social Committee adopted the following opinion by 79 votes to 11 with nine abstentions.

1. Introduction: the EU's goals in the reduction of green-

house gas emissions

Global climate change is currently one of

1.1
the most
important subjects in scientific and political discussion and
action, as well as in everyday life.
International activities
initiated at the turn of the 1980s and 1990s led first to the
establishment of
the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC) in 1989, then to negotiations being initiated at
(1990) and finally to the adoption of the United
UN level
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
in 1992, which came into force on 21 March 1994.

1.2
Climate change did occur in the distant past, though we
have only indirect evidence of this (proxy data) in the form of
paleoclimatic measurements and observation or of geological
phenomena and archaeological findings, as there are no reliable
meteorological data from that time. New analyses of proxy data
for the Northern Hemisphere indicate that
the increase in
global temperature in the 20th century is the largest of any
century during the past 1 000 years.

1.4
(TAR),
According to the Third Assessment Report
drawn up by the IPCC in 2001, the global average surface
temperature has
increased since 1861, and according to
analyses of the World Meteorological Organisation, nine of the
warmest years recorded have been in the last ten years. 1998
was the warmest year, followed by 2002, 2003, 2004 and
2001. The 20th century witnessed an increase in average
temperature of 0.6 °C +/- 0.2 °C and forecasts indicate that, if
appropriate measures are not taken, by the end of the 21th
century temperatures will have risen by a further 1.4 °C to
5.8 °C.

level

The assumption which enjoys wide support in scientific
1.5
circles — mostly in Europe — and is given great importance at
the political
is that climate change is caused predomi-
nantly by the increase of greenhouse gases in the earth's atmo-
sphere resulting from human activity, above all the burning of
fuels. This assumption is based on the correlation
fossil
between a long-term growth in concentrations of greenhouse
in the atmosphere and the
gases, especially carbon dioxide,
long-term trend in global
in the twentieth
century, as well as on results from climate models for assessing
the extent and effects of climate changes in the future, taking
account of projections of greenhouse gas emissions and their
concentrations in the atmosphere.

temperatures

1.3 Many states and regions that are vulnerable to climate
change are also under pressure from forces such as population
resource depletion, and poverty. A policy, and
growth,
measures based on it, formulated with the help of the devel-
oped countries and respecting the needs of developing coun-
tries, can both help the progress of sustainable development
and equality of opportunities and enhance the effects of adap-
tive measures. This should lessen pressures on resources,
improve management of environmental risks, and increase the
welfare of the poorest members of society. It can also lead to
reduced vulnerability to climate change. Inclusion of climatic
risks in the design and implementation of national and interna-
tional development initiatives can promote equity and develop-
ment that is more sustainable and that reduces vulnerability to
climate change.

1.6
The influence of mankind on global climate change is
already demonstrable despite doubts about the effects of aero-
sols and some natural factors (volcanic activity and solar irradi-
ance). However, the global climate is also affected by cycles of
solar activity and geophysical factors, and establishing exactly
how great man's influence is compared with natural changes is
not yet possible, nor is it likely to be for a long time. There are
also uncertainties concerning the representativeness of available
data and the results of the climate models, which still do not
describe all the interactions with complete accuracy and there-
fore cannot simulate all the elements of the climate system
with absolute precision.

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1.7
The climate models used in making forecasts of atmo-
spheric concentrations of greenhouse and aerosol gases and in
the subsequent
future climate are based on
scenarios in the IPCC Special Report on Emissions Scenarios.
These scenarios bring together various hypotheses of
the
world's socio-economic, energy and population development to
the end of the 21st century.

forecasts of

Poland and Slovenia. The Protocol also offers the chance of
using flexible mechanisms (Emissions Trading, Joint Implemen-
tation projects in developed countries and Clean Development
intended to help the
Mechanisms in developing countries)
developed countries meet their own Kyoto commitment under
more favourable economic conditions and at the same time
help developing countries to move over to new technologies.

The vulnerability of human societies and natural systems
1.8
to climate extremes is demonstrated by the damage, hardship,
and death caused by events such as droughts,
floods, heat
waves, avalanches, and windstorms. Forecasts of future devel-
opment suggest some extreme events are projected to increase
in frequency during the 21st century and their impact
is
expected to be worse both in extent and severity.

1.9
Further research is required to improve the ability to
detect, attribute and fully understand climate change, to reduce
uncertainties and to project future climate changes. In particu-
lar, there is a need for additional systematic and sustained
observations, modelling and process studies.

The man-made global warming hypothesis that climate
1.10
change is a result of the increased content of greenhouse gases
in the atmosphere was the basis for the policy decision of the
states involved and the European Community to apply the
principle of preventive action and to frame a policy and
strategy for limiting climate change through reduction of
greenhouse gas emissions, above all carbon dioxide, from the
burning of fossil fuels.

1.13
The EU-15 Member States account for roughly 85 % of
the EU-25's total emissions and the new Member States 15 %.
Current emissions inventories show that the EU-15, signatories
to the Kyoto Protocol, had by 2003 only managed to reduce
their total greenhouse gas emissions by 1.7 %, which signifi-
cantly reduces the EU-15's real chances of achieving the Kyoto
target by the 2008-2012 period. Although emissions in the
EU-15 have risen by 3.6 % since 1995 and by as much as
4.3 % in the last five years, the latest emissions forecasts predict
that additional emissions-reduction measures, combined with
application of the Kyoto mechanisms, could produce cuts of
8.8 % by 2010, outstripping the EU-15 Kyoto target. In the
period 1990-2003, the new EU Member States reduced total
greenhouse gas emissions by 22 %, although much of this was
achieved by the transformation processes in, above all, the first
half of the 1990s: after 1995 emissions dropped by 6 % and
have been stable in the last five years.

1.11
The practical outcome of these policy decisions was
the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change (December 1997)
and its entry into force on 16 February 2005.

The Kyoto Protocol commits its signatories to reducing
1.12
greenhouse gas emissions in the period 2008-2012 by the
amounts they agreed to as set out
in Appendix B to the
Protocol
in relation to the situation in 1990. The EU-15
Member States are obliged to reduce their total emissions by
8 % (i.e. by 336 Mt CO2eq annually). The new Member States
have their own reduction targets set by Appendix B. In most
cases this is also 8 %, though for Hungary and Poland it is 6 %.
Appendix B stipulates a different reference year for Hungary,

1.14
Although the EU-15's prospect of meeting its Kyoto
Protocol commitment suggests lowering emissions by 2012
could be a problem, a document drafted for the March 2005
Council sets out medium- and long-term reduction goals for
economically developed states in the order of 15-30 % and 60-
80 % of 1990 levels by 2020 and 2050 respectively. The IPCC
estimates that this will slow growth in world GDP over the
period 1990 to 2100 by between 0.003 % and 0.06 % per
annum (1). The European Commission's estimates reckons with
a drop in the EU 25's GDP of 0.5 % in 2025 if the target for
CO2 concentration in the atmosphere is set at 550 ppmv and
CO2 emissions are cut by 1.5 % annually after 2012. This
assumes, however, that all countries will take part in combating
climate change and in the emissions trading system. If the EU
acts unilaterally, the impact on its GDP could be two to three
times greater, without any discernible environmental benefits
being achieved (2).

(1) IPCC Working Group 3 report ‘Climate Change 2001: Mitigation’,

technical summary, p. 61.

(2) Winning the Battle Against Global Climate Change: COM(2005)35,

9.2.2005, p. 15.

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1.15
The Kyoto Protocol's main problem is that its signa-
tories do not include the USA, which produces the largest
amounts of greenhouse gases in absolute terms (almost 25 % of
the world total) and that so far there are no reduction targets
for the commitment period 2008-2012 for those countries
with the largest anticipated growth in these gases (India, China
and others, where emissions have increased by more than 20 %
since 1990). While in 1990, when international negotiations
began, developing countries accounted for around 35 % of total
world emissions, in 2000 the figure was around 40 % and fore-
casts indicate that by around 2010 it will be 50 % and in 2025
as high as 75 %. This represents a serious threat to the goals of
this whole initiative. If a global consensus cannot be achieved
on climate change issues through political negotiations, the
isolated endeavours of European countries (the EU) will be
incapable of producing the desired positive effects and could,
on the contrary, create a serious imbalance in economic devel-
opment.

for
most countries, approved, which allocated allowances
greenhouse gas emissions down to the level of
individual
sources and their operators. The Directive came into force on 1
January 2005 and should enable operators of undertakings
producing greenhouse gases to trade in such a way as to opti-
mise the costs to them of reducing these emissions.

2.1.2
The Linking Directive establishing a scheme for green-
house gas emission allowance trading within the Community
in respect of
the Kyoto Protocol's project mechanisms is
intended to link the Kyoto Protocol's flexible mechanisms — JI
and CDM — to the EU emissions trading scheme. This way
Member States and businesses will be able to meet their own
targets in collaboration with other countries which have ratified
the Kyoto Protocol.

1.16 Whatever reservations there may be about the present
state of knowledge on the causes of the climate changes taking
place and the way that policy on climate change was initiated,
framed and adopted,
it has to be said that many activities
geared towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions could have
a significant beneficial effect, namely the reduction of energy
consumption in the economic and private spheres. To achieve
this, appropriate incentive mechanisms have to be found and
investments made into developing science, research, new tech-
nologies and essential innovation.

2. Means to achieve EU objectives in the reduction of

greenhouse gas emissions

2.1
To meet its Kyoto Protocol commitments to reduce total
emissions of greenhouse gases by the period 2008 to 2012 by
8 % and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions generally, the EU
has adopted a strategic programme — European Climate
Change Programme — and, as part of this, a series of specific
regulatory measures of varying significance, of which the most
important are:

2.1.1
Directive 2003/87/EC establishing a scheme for green-
house gas emission allowance trading (3) (EU ETS) should be
the key instrument for meeting obligations on reducing green-
house gas emissions. This Directive was implemented in 2004,
when National Allocation Plans were also put forward and, in

(3) OJ L 275/32, 25.10.2003.

2.1.3
Directive 2001/77/EC on the promotion of electricity
produced from renewable energy sources (4) is a very important
instrument for the introduction and use of renewable energy
sources (water, wind, solar, biomass, geothermal energy) and
intended to offset the costs of the initial phase of making prac-
tical use of renewable energy sources.

2.1.4
Directive 2003/30/EC on the promotion of the use of
biofuels (5),
including their use for motor vehicles, creates
favourable conditions for limiting the consumption of liquid
fossil fuels in favour of fuels from renewable sources.

2.1.5
Directive 2004/8/EC on the promotion of cogenera-
tion of heat and electricity (6) aimed at facilitating greater use
for energy of fossil fuels in cogeneration.

2.1.6
Directive 2003/96/EC on the taxation of energy
products
tax’
throughout the EU and creating the framework for ecological
tax reform and the internalisation of externalities.

electricity (7)

introducing

‘carbon

and

a

2.1.7
Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament
and of the Council on certain fluorinated greenhouse gases
(HFCs, PFCs and SF6) (8), expected to be adopted during the
course of the current year.

2.1.8 Measures introducing the assessment of heat insulation
properties of buildings and their
improvement and some
further regulatory technical instruments.

(4) OJ L 283/33, 27.10.2001.
(5) OJ L 123/42, 17.5.2003.
(6) OJ L 525/50, 21.2.2004.
(7) OJ 283/51, 31.10.2003.
(8) COM(2003) 492 final.

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2.2 While the regulatory framework created by directives on
renewable energy sources, cogeneration,
taxation of energy
products and support of biofuels modify market conditions to
make reduction of fossil fuels use easier and more effective, and
in essence also to create equal conditions for operators in the
same branches of industry, the implementation of the Directive
on greenhouse gas emission allowance trading provokes a
series of mixed reactions, particularly regarding the drawing-up
of national allocation plans for the different sources and the
process for approving these plans. The scheme's shortcoming is
that it fails to create a level playing field for those taking part
in the trading system, both at national level between individual
level between
manufacturing sectors and at
Member States.

international

2.3
The impact on the market of the implementation of the
Directive Regulation supporting electricity production from
renewable sources is far more evident. It sets out in advance
clear rules on the conditions under which energy for distribu-
tion networks will be purchased at the national level. It can be
assumed that these conditions will naturally differ from country
to country, which can also be taken as an infringement of a
level playing field for economic competition; nevertheless, it is
up to each Member State to decide what its priorities are and
to know what its possibilities are and on the basis of this to set
favourable prices for electricity from the various sources of
renewable energy.

suitable locations. Promoting geological sequestration and the
safe use of nuclear energy would also produce emissions
savings.

some countries have decided to give up
2.6 Whereas
nuclear energy or have renounced it from the start, in other
countries nuclear energy plays a major role in energy produc-
tion. Work is being conducted on nuclear fusion, but it is esti-
mated that it will be at least fifty years before it becomes
economically viable to use. This being the case, encouraging
safer nuclear fission, recycling spent nuclear fuel and solving
the problems of final storage, continue to be a challenge. Many
countries consider promoting and retaining nuclear energy a
suitable tool to curb greenhouse gas emissions. Other countries
express their reservations towards such an approach because of
risks being connected with nuclear energy.

2.7
Relatively little attention is paid to the very important
issue of making Europe as a whole, and specifically the indivi-
dual Member States,
less vulnerable should climate changes
occur. This very important sphere merits much greater atten-
tion and funds invested here yield the greatest benefit.

and

2.4
Somewhat lagging behind the regulatory measures are
support measures, notably for science and research in the Sixth
Framework Programme (9),
in which funding of EUR 2,120
million is allocated for climate change science and research for
the period 2003 to 2006. These are earmarked for ‘sustainable
‘sustainable surface transport’ and ‘global
energy systems’,
Framework
ecosystems’.
change
Programme (10) for the period 2007-2013 allocates a total of
EUR 2 931 million for its Energy heading, with priorities
including hydrogen and fuel cells, renewable electricity genera-
tion and liquid biofuels for transport, as well as clean coal tech-
nologies and sequestration, energy savings and efficient energy
use; research into climate change and reducing vulnerability
and risks are included in the Environment and Climate Change
heading, for which a further EUR 2 535 million is budgeted.

Seventh

The

3. The consequences

imple-
menting the Kyoto Protocol and policies to limit
climate change

for industrial change of

3.1
The consequences of implementing the Kyoto Protocol
and attendant policies and measures fall into two categories: 1)
those leading to structural changes in branches of industry
(including possible relocation of some manufacturers or even
sectors) and 2) those primarily improving efficiency in energy
use and provoking internal changes in the individual branches,
especially those with high energy needs. In order to achieve
success without unnecessary losses, means need to be chosen
that provide a balance of regulation and positive stimulus to
the market. Otherwise, it would be unrealistic to expect climate
change policies to be at all successful.

2.5
Key areas in which more substantial savings in green-
house gas emissions can be made include expanding the use of
biomass, better care of plantations and their renewal and
land in
extending forestation in uncultivated agricultural

(9) Council Decision 2002/835/EC of 30 September 2002.
(10) COM(2005)119, 6.4.2005.

3.2
Instruments which raise the costs of primary (fossil)
energy sources and electricity could lead to structural changes.
The reasons for price rises are a) the as yet only partially liber-
alised energy market and the consequent risk of monopolistic
behaviour by large energy companies which can afford to pass
on the increased costs of climate change measures (permits,
purchase price of renewable energy) in the market price, and b)
taxation (an external factor). It must be said that in the EU's

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partially liberalised energy market, those markets which are
fully liberalised have a tendency to raise energy prices on the
pretext of fighting climate change, as when passing on the
price of coal in full. Significant rises in electricity prices and
deformation in the structure of industry can be expected as a
result of the following measures:

tougher competition with countries which, unencumbered by
measures to reduce climate change, have low energy costs. The
way the system is being introduced is very chaotic and is
causing uncertainty in the investment environment as a whole,
while favouring only those with inefficient processes and
management systems.

3.2.1
The promotion of electricity production from renew-
able sources has a whole series of consequences and benefits
and these influences differ according to the kind of renewable
energy involved. The least problematic, relatively speaking, is
the use of hydro energy (where well-considered and economical
modification of water flows is needed and large dams can be
problematic). The range of problems increases with the use and
management of wind energy. The burning of biomass has to
overcome a whole series of obstacles and red-tape before the
advantages outweigh the costs of using what is a very diverse
renewable source. Foremost among these is the danger of large
power station concerns buying up biomass as an additive for
thermal power stations, thus forcing up the price and making
it too costly for local heating plants or for the processing
industry concerned. The truly clean sources (solar panels and
geothermal energy) are still at a stage of development where
their use on any significant scale is out of the question. One
consequence, in any event, is a higher purchase price of energy
from renewable sources which is set arbitrarily and passed on
to the consumer. Generally speaking, however,
the use of
renewable energy sources should be supported and the best
ways sought to make them economically viable.

In view of the fact that not all countries have set taxa-
3.2.2
the same level and the
tion of primary energy sources at
this
internal conditions,
Member States have very different
measure will bring about
industrial change by causing an
imbalance which might influence the allocation of investment
into developing capacities and new technologies in branches of
industry heavily dependent on energy. This instrument should
be used as the last resort and with the utmost caution, espe-
cially because the taxing of primary energies in Europe puts
those countries where taxation has been introduced at a
competitive disadvantage.

3.2.3
The introduction of the European system of emission
allowances trading (EU ETS) involves a rise in energy prices
(the range is between 8 % and 40 %, depending on source and
area) and a loss of competitiveness manifesting itself in a drop
in GDP of between 0.35 % and 0.82 %. Also expected are a
drop in the European economy's export performance and

3.2.4
The structural effects on some branches of industry
(production of ferrous and non-ferrous metals, building mate-
rials, the chemical and paper industries, etc.) are increased by
the impact of EU ETS introduction, as well as by the trend in
In recent times — at the beginning of the
energy pricing.
1990s — these branches invested heavily in modernisation and
reducing energy consumption, and some of them also managed
to boost production substantially. In reality, EU ETS means that
the system of allowances is such that modernised companies
will have to buy allowances, while those who have invested no
effort or resources will receive a ‘contribution’ to their develop-
ment in the form of allowances which they can sell. The core
trading period of 2008-2012 could already land these compa-
nies with insuperable economic difficulties because in many
cases they have already achieved the minimum levels of emis-
sions
the
maximum energy efficiency, making further reduction simply
impossible.

and technologically possible

technically

and

that

the branches of

3.2.5
In some branches of industry (the steel industry, most
notably) greenhouse gasses are released as a result of physical-
chemical processes. In most cases, such emissions have already
been reduced to the lowest levels technically possible. These
physical-chemical emissions, which cannot be reduced further,
should be exempted from trading. This does not mean,
however,
industries in question are
relieved of the obligation to reduce current emissions in other
spheres (energy production). The ceiling of allowances for indi-
vidual states and individual operators of emissions sources is
another crucial
the system is only just
coming into operation, as yet there is no significant practical
experience of how it works and its practical effects to draw on.
Expectations of its effects run the gamut from outright scepti-
cism to exaggerated optimism. The truth is that even those
who invented the system have not published any concrete
figures for greenhouse gas emissions reduction following the
introduction of EU ETS to show the benefits of the envisaged
measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Nevertheless, the
economic sector prefers a well functioning and non-discrimina-
tory system of emissions trading to taxation of energy.

factor. Given that

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3.3
Far more important are the changes resulting from
other instruments. Although these attract less media attention
than EU ETS, they will in the course of time bring real reduc-
tions in energy consumption as a whole or in the consumption
of fossil fuels in energy production. This is, then, a very desir-
able course of development with a specific potential to reduce
greenhouse gases, though even here there are some risks which
cannot be overlooked.

If

3.3.1
the Directive on the promotion of electricity
produced from renewable energy sources is fully implemented
to the extent intended, the estimated reduction of greenhouse
gas emissions in the EU-15 will be between 100 and 125 Mt
CO2eq, making it the single largest contribution to the reduction
of greenhouse gas emissions. As well as the direct effect of
reducing emissions, there should also be benefits in the devel-
opment of
technology and equipment both for physical
processes of energy production (water, wind, solar) and thermal
processes using biomass for energy. The potential risk in the
case of using biomass is the loss of some renewable raw mate-
rials (especially wood) for the processing branches. The support
given needs, therefore, to be carefully chosen to avoid such
loss. With wind energy, the risk lies in its instability and having
a large share of energy coming from wind power could jeopar-
dise the reliable supply of electricity in the networks; capacity
therefore needs to be backed up by stable sources.

3.3.2 When fully implemented, the Directive on the promo-
tion of the use of biofuels should reduce greenhouse gas emis-
sions in the EU-15 by 35 to 40 Mt CO2; it should also have the
secondary effect of giving a new opportunity to agriculture and
the processing industry — supplying raw materials and biofuels
for motor vehicles.

possible savings on greenhouse gas emissions are estimated at
between 250 and 285 Mt CO2eq.

3.3.4
Fiscal measures should only be used very carefully and
to provide the incentive of lower taxation for players which
reduce greenhouse gas emissions. There is also the question of
taxing airline fuel. At present, air travel has a tax advantage
over other forms of transport, though, admittedly, it accounts
for only about 2 % of greenhouse gas emissions. Any taxing of
airline fuels must be done globally,
the steps need to be
proposed and implemented with due regard to the highly
competitive environment in air travel and they must not come
unilaterally from the EU.

Possible savings in energy consumption are estimated
3.3.5
at 215 to 260 Mt CO2eq, of which total savings of 35 to 45 Mt
CO2eq could come from better insulation of buildings. Potential
savings in transport are put at between 150 and 180 Mt CO2eq.

3.3.6
Policy measures also include the Regulation on certain
fluorinated greenhouse gases (HFCs, PFCs and SF6), which
account for a relatively small share of greenhouse gases. At
present the figure is around 2 % of the EU's total greenhouse
gas emissions and can be expected to rise to 3 % after 2012.
The chances of reducing this lie mostly in limiting the use of
these materials in commercial refrigeration equipment, in the
production of HFC-23 and in fixed or mobile air-conditioning
units. According to the latest IPCC estimates, costs could be in
the order of 10 to 300 US$/tCO2eq (sectoral and regional differ-
ence). Potential emissions savings are put at 18 to 21 Mt CO2eq.

3.3.7
Sequestration in plant material has great potential for
reducing greenhouse gases — by between 60 and 100 Mt
CO2eq if the right conditions are created.

3.3.3
The Directive on the promotion of cogeneration of
heat and electricity is an important element of the system to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions and could reduce them in the
EU-15 by 65 Mt CO2 per annum; it also aims to make heat
generation more energy efficient where the system has not as
yet been employed (especially large energy sources for heating
households, etc.). Many industrial plants have already been
using the system for a considerable time. Most often, the risk is
the relatively high cost of fuels compared to the increased
energy gained and the resulting low return on investment, the
introducing the system requires
large investment needed if
conversion of essential plant and the fact that these sources are
not usually operated non-stop, which makes their access to the
network more difficult. In the energy supply sector, the total

CO2 capture and storage in suitable geological strata or
3.4
underground spaces comprises the separation of CO2 from
suitable anthropogenic sources, the transportation to a storage
location, and the isolation from the atmosphere for a long
period of time. The reduction of emissions in this way (CCS —
carbon capture and separation) is influenced by the amount of
CO2 captured,
the reduction in overall efficiency of power
plants or industrial processes due to the additional energy
required for capture, transport and storage, and the fraction of
CO2 retained in storage. Current technology can capture about
90 % of the CO2 fed into a capture plant. However, roughly
15-30 % more energy is needed to operate the CCS system
(most of it for capture) leading to a net emission reduction of
approximately 85 %.

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4. Conclusions and recommendations

collective greenhouse gas emissions should agree to implement
well-designed and effective international instruments.

4.1
Climate change is a unique problem that humanity has
never before encountered in modern times. The problem is
global, long-term (even a few centuries) and involves complex
interactions between climatic, environmental, economic, poli-
tical, institutional, social and technological processes. This has
important international and intergenerational consequences in
the context of broader societal goals such as equality and
sustainable development. Developing a response to climate
change is characterised by decision-making which involves
substantial uncertainties and risks, including the possibility of
non-linear and/or irreversible changes.

Climate change is a global phenomenon and should be
4.7
tackled as such. All possible political instruments or negotia-
tions should be used to involve all the world's major producers
of greenhouse gases in efforts to reduce the global
level of
greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere. The ‘choice’
of major polluters should take account of the estimated level of
total greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere after 2012.
True progress cannot be achieved without using adequate poli-
tical and economic means.

Adverse manifestations of global climate change include
4.2
increasingly extreme weather conditions
(e.g. downpours,
floods, landslides, drought and windstorms), which are causing
ever greater damage to people and property. Estimates of cost
and benefits of mitigation actions differ in how welfare is
measured, the scope and methodology of the analysis, and the
underlying assumptions built into the analyses. As a result, esti-
mated costs and benefits may not reflect the actual costs and
benefits of implementing mitigation actions.

4.8
There also needs to be a realistic assessment of the will
of the Member States of the EU itself to achieve far more ambi-
tious goals of obligatory emissions reductions after 2012 with
a view to the Lisbon Strategy and the results so far of measures
adopted and implemented.
In this regard, we welcome the
proposals in the Commission's Communication Winning the
battle against Climate Change and accompanying documents.

Further policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
4.3
must take into account all the economic parameters. If not,
those states which have ratified the Kyoto protocol run the risk
of having some of their manufacturing move to developed
economies which are still hesitating to sign the protocol or to
developing countries which are not yet subject to any quota
obligations under it. This could result in economic losses and
weakened competitiveness, without producing the desired
global reduction in emissions.

cultural,

4.4
The successful implementation of climate change mitiga-
tion options needs to overcome many technical, economic,
political,
institutional
social, behavioural
barriers which prevent the full exploitation of the technolo-
gical, economic and social opportunities of these mitigation
options. The potential mitigation opportunities and types of
barriers vary by region and sector, and over time.

and/or

The effectiveness of climate change mitigation can be
4.5
enhanced when climate policies are integrated with the non-
climate objectives of national and sectoral policy development
and be turned into broad transition strategies to achieve the
long-term social and technological changes required by both
sustainable development and climate change mitigation.

Coordinated actions among countries and sectors may
4.6
help to reduce mitigation cost,
competitiveness
concerns, potential conflicts with international trade rules, and
carbon leakage. A group of countries that wants to limit its

address

4.9
The EU's approach in the immediate future should be to
prepare concrete arguments to present at international negotia-
tions on climate change. These negotiations must lead in the
future to an acceptable way of continuing the process of redu-
cing greenhouse gas emissions after 2012 — one that involves
all the economically developed countries and the prime produ-
cers of emissions in the developing countries as a whole and
especially those where development is rapid. Failing this, it will
have to be accepted that in 2012 the Kyoto Protocol in its
present form will only cover a quarter of the world's total
greenhouse gas emissions. As it stands now,
the Protocol
cannot be an effective instrument for addressing the question
of global climate in the future and an approach will have to be
sought which can seamlessly follow on from it. This must,
however, include a rethink of instruments for reducing green-
house gases, including the EU ETS, both in terms of their real
impact on the global volume of greenhouse gas emissions and
their cost effectiveness and administrative burden. Steps should
be taken immediately to compare the proposals and plans of
various groups of countries for long-term reductions in green-
house gases so that the right decisions can be taken in time.

The global community must be involved in solving
4.10
global problems by political means.
It has to be openly
admitted, however, that such involvement is not necessarily in
the interest of all the big polluters and that, because of their
they prefer a
size and geographical
the EU's
unilateral approach.
continued leading role in climate change issues could weaken
the ability to adapt without having any tangible effect on
climate change itself.

location (USA, China),
there is political

failure,

If

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Official Journal of the European Union

C 185/69

4.11
These problems cannot be solved without a far better
understanding of both the causes of the phenomenon and the
possibilities of reducing the man-made influences involved.
Only adequate investment in science and research, monitoring
and systematic observation will enable the necessary accelera-
tion in scientific understanding of the real causes of climate
change.

There can be no doubt that in many respects the key
4.12
factor of both economic success and the progressive reduction
of greenhouse gas emissions is efficient manufacturing and
above all an economical use of energy. The instruments we see
as being appropriate and effective for this within the energy
production sector are increased use of renewable sources,
selected according to the specific conditions of the individual
Member States, including the use of biomass in transport, the
rational use of the potential of co-generation,
increasing the
global efficiency of electricity and heat production, while being
aware that
these
measures. Another relatively straightforward contribution to
reducing greenhouse gasses is using solar energy for heating
water (for domestic consumption or heating) and the use of
heat pumps which are now becoming economically viable for
use on a small scale, such as in individual houses.

there are limits to the effectiveness of

4.13
Other instruments we consider effective include decar-
bonisation in electricity and heat production, including support
for nuclear, solar and hydrogen technologies, particularly in
research and development, and increasing the safety of produc-

Brussels, 20 April 2006.

tion and consumption systems. On the energy conservation
front, attention should be paid not only to the traditional
reduction of energy consumption in industrial production, but
also to the improvement of insulation properties of building
and a significant growth in efficient public transport. These
instruments will also require substantial resources for science
and research and a major push for their implementation if the
EU really wants to take on the leading role in the fight against
climate change.

4.14
All measures must be adopted only after thorough
analysis of the implications and consequences, so that inap-
propriate steps should not endanger the competitiveness and
the very ability to act of the EU as a whole and of the indivi-
dual Member States. Support for energy from biomass, for
example, must not be a threat to some branches of industry by
destroying their sources of raw materials, and an increased
energy price as a result of measures to suppress greenhouse gas
emissions cannot become prohibitive and have a significant
social fallout.

4.15
The safety of the population requires that plans be
made, adapted to regional circumstances, to limit the vulner-
ability to climate change and promote the development of
warning and alarm systems
linked to monitoring and
systematic observation. Effective steps in this area will need in-
depth strategic and economic analyses, including planning and
allocating appropriate financing both at EU level and at
national and regional levels.

The President

of the European Economic and Social Committee

Anne-Marie SIGMUND

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Official Journal of the European Union

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APPENDIX

to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee

The following amendment, which received at least a quarter of the votes cast, was defeated in the course of the debates:

‘Point 4.13

Other instruments we consider effective include decarbonisation in electricity and heat production, with the support of
other available fuels and energy sources, especially solar and hydrogen technologies, particularly in research and develop-
ment, and increasing the safety of production and consumption systems ...’

Reason

Deletion of the reference to nuclear energy ties in with the amendment to point 2.6.

Voting

For: 25

Against: 54

Abstentions: 12.