Debate: Presentation of the Fit for  package after the publication of the IPCC report
Date: TUESDAY, 14 SEPTEMBER 2021
Speaker: Frans Timmermans
Language: EN

So we have no choice. We have to act. And the one thing I hope we can avoid is that we are paralysed by the fear of change, paralysed by the consequence of what we need to do. The Fit for 55 package proposes a holistic approach to the problem, and we will have ample time to discuss the individual measures that we propose. The Commission is open to discuss these and look for alternatives, but we have to be very clear on one thing, whatever measure you take. All these measures have a price effect, and the art of politics will be to ensure that the price effect does not affect the most vulnerable and that we use the age—old political instrument of redistribution to make sure that the burden is evenly spread in society and that people can see clearly, beyond any doubt, that we have taken measures that will assure an equal burden-sharing across society.  The one thing we cannot afford is for the social side to be opposed to the climate side. I see this threat very clearly now that we have a discussion about the price hike in the energy sector. Only about one fifth of the price increase can be attributed to CO2 prices rising. The others are simply a consequence of shortage in the market, and the irony is that, had we had the Green Deal five years earlier, we would not be in this position because then we would have less dependency on fossil fuels and on natural gas. Along the way in this energy price crisis, we have seen that the prices for renewables have stayed low and stable. So, instead of being paralysed or slowing things down because of the price hike now in the energy sector, we should speed things up in the transition to renewable energy so that affordable renewable energy becomes available for everyone. That is, I think, the lesson we should draw from the present situation. Of course, if you follow the reasoning we have put in Fit for 55, for instance on the introduction of the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) in transport and buildings, in combination with the Social Climate Fund, you will give Member States the opportunity to make their own choices, for instance reducing the VAT, reducing duties on energy, and giving direct support to households. Direct support can be given. It’s a choice Member States can make. It’s the choice we have made because we believe that, in the analysis of the fact that emissions and transport are still going up and they need to be going down, and that the energy efficiency of buildings is not increasing at the rate that we need to get to the -55% emission reduction in 2030, we have to do something. We cannot just say, ‘OK, it’s too tricky, let it be’. Then the emissions will continue to rise in transport and we will never, ever reach the target we set into law.  So my offer to Parliament and Council is: let’s look at the Fit for 55 package in its totality. If there are elements you would like to change, then help us find alternatives that reach the same goal in a way that ensures fair burden-sharing across society, across Member States, between regions. That is, I think, the ultimate goal of what we should do.  Now, of course, everything we do at home has an effect on our position abroad and I have sensed, in my travels and negotiations in the preparation of COP26 in Glasgow, that the fact that we have a plan and the fact that there is a concrete proposal, has enormously boosted our position, also in the international arena. I spoke last week both with John Kerry and Alok Sharma in the preparation of the COP, and I will see John Kerry again next week. I spoke with the Minister from Bhutan, who is Chair of the Least Developed Countries (LDC) Group in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). I will also be speaking with the Chairman of the Small Island States Group next week. I will be talking to the Turks later this week. I will be travelling to Egypt to talk to the countries in the Mediterranean in early October. I will also be travelling to Moscow to talk to the Russians. So you see that there is an active interest in Europe’s role in all of this. I’m in constant dialogue with the Chinese and their negotiator, Xie Zhenhua, to also try and convince the Chinese to come on board with more ambition. So that’s how we try to prepare Glasgow in the best possible way, and I would really welcome your support in these efforts because I believe – and I want to conclude on this – we can still fix it. I believe we can still make a success of Glasgow but, more than that, I believe we can prevent the climate crisis from getting out of hand and out of control. I believe we can offer to the next generations a humanity that knows how to live within planetary boundaries. I believe it can be done, but only if we act now.