New Commission proposal for climate protection in aviation
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Airlines must continue to contribute
Peter Liese: good basis for negotiations with the Parliament. Important to apply same reduction target as for other industries. European Parliament will continue to put pressure on flights to and from third countries. ICAO deal: important step but falls short of efforts made by other sectors and the ambition of the Paris agreement
“The proposal is a solid basis for discussion in the Parliament, but we will examine it very closely and we will, in particular, continue to press for ambitious climate protection for intercontinental flights," said the environmental spokesman of the largest group in the European Parliament (EPP Christian Democrats) Peter Liese on the occasion of today’s Commission proposal about the further inclusion of aviation in the EU emission trading system (ETS).
Read more: New Commission proposal for climate protection in aviation
Energy Efficiency First
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Commission proposes higher target and precise rules / Cautious approach on ecodesign but more products covered by efficiency standards
Peter Liese: Right priorities but regulations for renewables need to be improved
“It is very good that the European Commission is serious on the principle ‘energy efficiency first’. Energy efficiency is the cost-efficient part of climate mitigation. In the past few years, we spent one billion euros per day on importing fossil fuels. That money should be better spent to our local craftsmen and industry.” This is how Liese as Coordinator in the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety for the biggest group in the European Parliament, the Christ-democratic EPP, reacted on the proposals of the European Commission, the so-called Winter Package. The Commission proposes to raise the energy efficiency target for 2030 to 30%, besides many other proposals on the future of EU energy and climate policy. The Commission also proposes to extend the main elements of the energy efficiency Directive to 2030 and beyond.
EU emission trading for aviation must continue
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Agreement at International Aviation Organization (ICAO) is better than nothing but falls short in light of the Paris Agreement
“The EU ETS for aviation must continue in the following years”, said Peter Liese, former rapporteur of the file in the European Parliament ahead of the new Commissions proposal this Friday.
In October last year, the International Civil Aviation Organization ICAO agreed on the principles of the Global Marked Based Mechanisms (CORSIA) to address the CO2 emissions of aviation but Liese said this agreement is not at all satisfactory for the European Parliament: “It is much better than nothing and we should work with the partners on the basis of CORSIA (Carbon Offset and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation) - but it is far away from what is necessary after the global commitment to address climate change in Paris.
First of all, ICAO didn’t agree on any reduction of the emissions, they only talk about carbon neutral growth.
Second, the quality of the offset mechanisms, which they decided upon, is very unclear. It may even not be beneficiary for the environment because we have seen a lot of unsustainable offset credits and even fraud in this area and, third, the agreement is legally very unsafe. It will be somehow binding only from 2027.
Climate conference in Marrakesh
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The world leaves Trump out in the rain
„The representatives of the 200 states attending the climate conference in Morocco will leave the President-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, out in the rain.” This is the résumé of Peter Liese, MEP, Coordinator in the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety for the biggest group in the European Parliament (EPP/Christian Democrats), after his return from Marrakesh. “Of course, the election of Donald Trump has been a shock for everybody working hard on climate protection but in Marrakesh all the attendants pointed out, that there will not be a change in our climate policies. Especially important for that was the statement of the Chinese Minister for the Environment. To China, climate protection is not only a moral obligation, but also an economic chance. Earlier the United States and China tried to impede our climate policies, but from now on it will be only the President of the United States whom we will have to face protecting our environment”, concluded Liese.