Newsletter – July 2015
GREEN EYE ON THE EU'S CLIMATE EFFORT
- Dutch court orders state to cut CO2 emissions
- Fracking – Europe is not for shale!
- Luxembourg takes over the Presidency of the EU Council
ROUND-UP - CLIMATE NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD
- China releases its climate action plan
- Climate negotiations in Bonn – baby steps on the draft agreement
- G7 – now say goodbye to fossil fuels!
- Spiritual leaders join the fight against climate change
- The Divestment movement is amplifying
WHAT'S ON
- Calendar of some key events in July and September
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GREEN EYE ON THE EU'S CLIMATE EFFORT
Dutch court orders state to cut CO2 emissions
On Wednesday 24th June, thanks to the fight from the Dutch NGO ‘Urgenda’, the Dutch court ordered the Netherlands to reduce emissions by 25% within 5 years to protect its citizens from climate change. Based on current policies, the Netherlands will achieve a reduction of only 17% at most in 2020, which is “below the norm of 25% to 40% for developed countries deemed necessary in climate science and international climate policy”. The court decided that “The State must do more to avert the imminent danger caused by climate change, also in view of its duty of care to protect and improve the living environment”. This is the first world’s first climate liability suit, which looks likely to set a huge precedent for other countries to follow. In Belgium, a group of campaigners is already making the same demands.
Fracking – Europe is not for shale!
The Greens/EFA group continues to support the citizens who are fighting to put an end to fracking and shale gas. On 4th June they organized a conference, which you can also watch here. A majority of Members of the European Parliament (338 to 319) also voted this month in favor of an immediate moratorium on hydraulic fracturing in Europe. MEPs supported the amendment 1 to the Energy Security Strategy report. The final report as a whole was not adopted in the end and so the moratorium will not take effect but the report nevertheless sends a very positive signal and is considered as a milestone for the EU anti-fracking movement. In the meantime, Lancashire county council said no to fracking, which is a huge victory for the activists in the region! Do you want to know more about the subject? Or do you want to pass the message on? Click here for more information.
Luxembourg takes over the Presidency of the EU Council
As of 1st July Luxembourg takes over the Presidency of the Council of the EU from Latvia. Labelling is one of the top energy priorities for the country. It will also have to make progress on the Commission’s broad energy union plan’s governance and improve energy efficiency across Europe. Find Luxembourg’s full priority list here.
ROUND-UP - CLIMATE NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD
China releases its climate action plan
On 30th June China delivered a more ambitious national climate action plan than expected. The country committed to peak its carbon dioxide emissions by around 2030 and has emphasized a desire to meet that target date even sooner. It also committed to boosting its clean energy output and forestry volume. Although the plan is not very detailed yet, China said that it is willing to reduce its CO2 by 60-65% from 2005. The world’s top polluters – China, the US and the EU – have now all tabled their climate plans ahead of the global climate conference taking place in Paris at the end of the year.
Climate negotiations in Bonn – baby steps on the draft agreement
Earlier this month negotiators met in Bonn, Germany, to make further progress on the draft text that will need to be sealed at COP21 in Paris in just a 5 months. In a last minute compromise, countries decided that the co-chairs of the negotiations should be allowed to make their own alterations to the text and present it to all parties ideally late July. The draft agreement – which has been whittled down from 89 pages to 85 only is far from finalized. According to many NGOs, there is still a major growing gap between what is required and what is pledged on financial support as well as cutting down national emissions. If all countries agree that more must be done, more action on emissions prior to 2020 must quickly be taken. Read the NGOs reactions here.
G7 – now say goodbye to fossil fuels!
In early June the 7 heads of the most powerful countries met to discuss everything from health, gender inequality and climate change. The Greens asked for strong commitments from the leaders and denounced their double-speak when it comes to their promises on climate change and the decisions they make when it comes to fossil fuels. While relatively positive signals were sent for ambitious climate action from the meeting, the political declarations did not have that much of an impact on the negotiators in Bonn, where only modest progress was achieved. Recognizing the need for decarbonisation is good. But leaving fossil fuels in the ground and putting an end to all investments in dirty energy sources must now become concrete. Five countries of the seven have increased their coal use in the last five years…
Spiritual leaders join the fight against climate change
The recent publication of Pope Francis’ encyclical on the environment - or Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama's announcement at Glastonbury end of June – has resonated for many people. The latest move from Pope Francis to shift the debate on global warming is extremely powerful: Across the world, many believers are now realising that more effort should be done to protect our planet. As priests speak out at the churches, their support on the fight against climate change could eventually help build the critical mass of public support needed to push political leaders to take the bold action. And some effects can already be perceived: on Sunday 28th June thousands of campaigners marched through Rome to support the Pope who will hold a conference on climate change.
The Divestment movement is amplifying
The movement is amplifying. Recently Europe’s second largest insurer AXA announced divestment from fossil fuel stocks. The global divestment movement is gaining more and more supporters and the Greens/EFA together with the rest of the Green family is also campaigning on the issue. Find more information here and encourage your bank to abandon every type of fossil fuels and boost renewables.
WHAT'S ON
6-9 July - Plenary vote on the EU carbon market (‘EU ETS’).
4 July - International Day of Cooperatives. Learn more about what you could do on this subject here (point 2).
13-16 July: 3rd International Conference on Financing for Development (Addis Ababa/Ethiopia)
1st September - Green Event on carbon divestment in Paris
18th September - EU Environment Council – EU environment ministers are to vote on the EU draft’s negotiating position for COP21.
Special COP21
The Greens/EFA together with the European Greens are finalizing their special campaign for COP21, which will soon start at national level. How did you come to realise that climate change is a reality? What action are you taking? Share your #climatemoment with us and spread the word! Do you want to help us to show the way to leaders? Why not become a climate ambassador? Find more information and tools here.
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