UK Climate Change Programme 2006 - JNCC - Defra

International framework for action
21
In September 2005, EU summits with China and
India resulted in an EU-China Partnership on
Climate Change and an EU-India Initiative on
Clean Development and Climate Change.
Through these initiatives the EU aims to scale
up efforts for development, deployment and
transfer of low carbon energy technologies as
well as to increase co-operation on adaptation
to climate change.
A centre-piece of the EU-China Partnership on
Climate Change was a new initiative on Near-
Zero Emissions Coal with carbon capture and
storage. The UK is leading the first phase of
the project, supporting it with £3.5m of
funding. The three-year feasibility study will
examine the viability of different technology
options for the capture of carbon emissions
from power generation and the potential for
geological storage in China.
The EU-India Initiative on Clean Development
and Climate Change aims to encourage and
promote sustainable patterns of consumption
and production to lessen the causes and the
adverse impacts of climate change. India and
the EU will also co-operate on improving
adaptation to current climate variability and
future climate change, and on one integration
of adaptation concerns into sustainable
development strategies.
27. The EU-Russia Summit reaffirmed both parties’
commitment to tackling climate change, and
to the Kyoto Protocol and its effective
implementation, and bolstered co-operation
on energy and energy efficiency.
28. EU leaders in the European Council are
expected to return to the issue of considering a
medium and long-term strategy under the Finnish
Presidency in the second half of 2006, when they
will be able to reflect on further cost-benefit
analysis by the Commission of action to reduce
emissions, and on the outcome of the review of
the ECCP.
29. The Government strongly supports the
development of the EU’s medium- and long-term
strategy as an important signal of the EU’s
continuing determination to show leadership in
shaping the international response to climate
change, both through its own actions and by
developing and sharing proposals for
strengthening international action. To be
effective, it will be essential for the EU’s work on
climate change and energy strategy development
to be closely linked. The UK believes that a key
priority for the EU is to give a firm signal about
the medium and long term direction of EU policy
to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the
continuing role of the EU emissions trading
scheme in delivering emissions cuts beyond 2012.
Without confidence in the EU’s determination to
move decisively towards a low-carbon economy,
business investment in the technologies needed
to deliver deep cuts in emissions will simply not
take place. The UK also believes that the EU
should expand its outreach to other countries,
supported by Community resources such as the
Country Strategy Programmes and Research
Framework Programme, and building in particular
on the EU-China and India partnerships. The EU
should direct significant future resources towards
supporting its internal and external climate
change objectives, in particular on co-operation
with developing countries on research and
development, technology and capacity building.
The international carbon market
30. The Government believes that, by providing for
emissions savings to be made at the point of least
cost, emissions trading is the most promising
mechanism for stimulating international
investment in low-carbon technology. The
Government has been a strong advocate of the
EU emissions trading scheme since its inception.
The UK Government has made it a priority to
work with the European Commission on its
review of the EU emissions trading scheme post-
2012. Our policy for the second phase of the
scheme is set out in the “Business” chapter
in Section 2.
31. The EU Environment Council acknowledged in
October 2005 that the scheme will remain an