EU Environment Ministers comply with Paris Agreement and agree to process Climate Act

The European Union demonstrated on Thursday that, despite the challenges and difficulties it has been forced to deal with this year, it has been able to conclude two of the major projects scheduled for 2020 - the European Climate Act and submission to the United Nations before the end of the year of a more ambitious emissions reduction target by 2030 (Nationally Determined Contributions - NDC) for the EU, thereby complying with the provisions of the Paris Agreement and returning the EU to its position of leadership in terms of climate ambition.

Following the agreement reached at the European Council held last week to increase the EU emissions reduction target by 2030 to at least 55%, the Council of Environment Ministers held on Thursday in Brussels, which was attended by the Vice-President of the Government and Minister for the Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, Teresa Ribera, and the Director-General of the Spanish Climate Change Office, Valvanera Ulargui, unanimously agreed to submit a new EU NDC to the United Nations that reflects the new European climate ambition and gave a green light to the overall focus of the European Climate Act, which already includes the new 2030 target, as was agreed at the European Council last week.

Responsible action against immediate and systemic risks

"Now that the 55% target has been incorporated into the Climate Act, it is time to urgently continue processing the text so that it can be applied as soon as possible. However, let there be no doubt that the 2030 target is the necessary signal for us all to advance towards climate neutrality by the middle of the century and to implement a European recovery based on climate ambition, opportunities, investments and innovations that this opens the door to and based on avoiding future costs for all", stressed Teresa Ribera.

This new target "is very good news for everybody, albeit still a considerable distance from what the United Nations Environment Programme identifies as a gap we need to close. However, the truth is that at least 55% is now more aimed at the other serious warning identified by the United Nations Development Programme just two days ago: The Human Development Index must also incorporate planetary limits, the impact on resource consumption and greenhouse gases".

In this regard, Teresa Ribera welcomed the effort made by Europe to "integrate our responsible action against immediate and system risks while also incorporating these values into our green and blue agenda, our industrial and social agenda, our primary sector, interesting and positive steps within Europe but also beyond its borders".

On the matter of the next steps to be taken, the Spanish Vice-President of the Government said that "the European Parliament has clearly identified certain issues - such as those related to adaptation - that may allow us to improve the incorporation of climate issues into every major strategic sectoral package coming from the European Commission and the overall coherence of public policies".

This target for a reduction of at least 55% is not only necessary for putting the European Union on track towards climate neutrality by the middle of the century in response to demands from the scientific community but will also be accompanied by important opportunities in terms of economic growth and job creation, cost reduction, modernisation of the industrial sector and environmental improvement.

The Climate Act, a framework for achieving climate neutrality

Besides the 2030 target and the goal to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, the Climate Act focuses on setting a new emissions reduction target for the EU in 2040 and implementing an oversight and evaluation mechanisms every five years to monitor progress towards the climate neutrality goal and the adaptation and coherence of European and national policies with said goals.

Furthermore, the law provides a framework for advancing efforts on adapting to the impacts of climate change within which all Member States must implement adaptation plans and strategies.

Over the course of reaching this point, Spain has always defended the importance of guaranteeing ambition in the European Climate Act. Spain's position has always been that this law should include an emissions reduction target of at least 55% by 2030, a need for all Member States to make progress towards climate neutrality by 2050 and the importance of strengthening adaptation, placing it at the same level as mitigation. The latter is a fundamental issue for Spain given its particular vulnerability to the impacts of climate change.

A path that is compatible with this increased ambition

Spain has already committed to climate neutrality no later than 2050 and already has the tools enabling that goal to be achieved. The Long-term Strategy submitted to the United Nations on 10 December defines a path for ensuring that greenhouse gas emissions in Spain are neutral by no later than 2050, highlighting the opportunities offered by decarbonisation in terms of employment, attracting investment, stimulation and transformation of the economy and improving the competitiveness of trade and industry.

Furthermore, Spain also has its Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan (Spanish acronym: PNIEC) establishing a roadmap for the next decade and going beyond the targets set by the European Union for Spain with a greenhouse gas emissions reduction target in Spain by 2030 of 23% less when compared with 1990 levels, 42% renewables in final energy use, a 39.5% improvement in energy efficiency and 74% renewable energy in electricity generation.

In other words, Spain's goals have been designed to be fully coherent with the increased European ambition for at least 55% by 2030. Spain has therefore already defined a path that is compatible with achieving emission neutrality. It is estimated that meeting these targets will be accompanied in 2030 by an increase in GDP of 1.8% and employment by 1.7%.

Reducing imported deforestation

Vice-President of the Government Teresa Ribera also stressed that Spain has joined the proposal for the European Commission to work on a legislative package to facilitate a reduction in imported deforestation, i.e. the consumption of goods and services by European citizens that hide a process of deforestation in third countries within their value chain, at source. "It is important to look after our own forests but to also know the consequences behind what we consume and, within such a significant framework as Europe, to also be sure that what we import meets the environmental forest protection standards to which we have committed on the international agenda", she stressed.

New protected marine areas in Antarctica

Spain brought to the Council meeting a need to actively work on obtaining support capable of allowing for the expansion of new protected marine areas in Antarctica. The establishment of protected areas in international waters represents a priority for Spain as an effective tool for protecting biodiversity and increasing the resilience of our seas and oceans against climate change and other impacts.

Furthermore, the Conclusions on the second Circular Economy Action Plan were adopted at this Council meeting. These conclusions include a broad range of measures aimed at decoupling economic growth from the use of resources and making a significant contribution to achieving climate neutrality by 2050. In this regard, Spain believes the adoption of measures capable of guaranteeing circularity in a single market is key as such measures would help us be more resilient and position us as global leaders to improve our sustainability and efficiency in the use of resources without leaving anyone behind.

Approval was also given to a general approach to amending the Aarhus Regulation, in which shortcomings had been identified in the right for public access to administrative and judicial review in terms of the environment in the European Union. This reform significantly boosts the right of NGOs to ask for a review of administrative actions by the European Union when it is believed they have contravened environmental legislation.

Digital solutions for the green transition

Council Conclusions were also adopted on digitalisation in favour of the environment, a document that tackles all issues related to the dual ecological and digital transition that the EU must undertake as a priority and that is already under way. Spain considers this issue to be a priority because there can be no green transition without the essential support of digital solutions.

The Council also discussed a number of issues from the new Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability aimed at effectively reducing the exposure of human beings and the environment to dangerous chemicals. As a member of the REACH UP group consisting of a dozen countries calling for an ambitious chemicals strategy for a toxin-free environment, while also improving competitiveness and innovation from European industry, Spain argued that the regulatory framework governing chemical products in the EU should be simplified in order to enable a faster and more efficient response to the challenges posed by dangerous substances.

Non official translation