Memorandum to Czech Presidency and Ten Test - EEB

EEB Memorandum to the Czech EU Presidencymake a sufficient EU contribution to the common goal of keeping global warmingwithin 2° C from pre-industrial times. We are quickly heading towards that limitand will reach it long before 2050 if we do not take more dramatic measures now.We therefore call upon the Presidency to launch a debate about increasinglystrong evidence that the world’s eco-systems are not as sturdy a buffer as wemay have hoped and that the process of degradation is accelerating now.This discussion is necessary also within the context of the Road to Copenhagen.Along with the Commission and its Swedish successor, the Czech Presidencywill have to create a constructive atmosphere for success in Copenhagen.Success will be represented by decisions that lead to significant reductions ofgreenhouse gases in industrialised countries, more than 30% in the comingdecade, and at least stabilisation in developing countries, leading to reductions inthose that currently have the highest emissions per capita. For success it is alsonecessary to agree on a truly global effort, with effective support mechanismsfrom the industrialised world to the poorest countries in the world and a fairinternational trading system. This effort must come together with agreements ona credible enforcement arrangement, including border tax adjustments targetedto specific countries or companies that violate these agreements.The climate/energy package dominated EU discussions so much in 2008 thatother important issues suffered or did not get the political attention theydeserved. The Commission postponed reviews of the National Emission CeilingsDirective and the Energy Tax Directive and a Roadmap on phasing out ofenvironmentally perverse subsidies. The French Presidency made a miserableattempt to reopen the debate on a Soil Directive, and it did not pay muchattention to the draft Industry Emissions Directive (a merger of seven existingDirectives including IPPC). EEB expects the Czech Presidency to tell theCommission that there are no excuses left regarding the first three proposals andto bring the two other proposals forward in a serious manner.Besides climate and health policies, the EU must make progress on resourceefficiency as well. We need to move towards a circular economy in which theconcept of “waste” is minimized. We are not only pumping the atmosphere full ofgreenhouse gases, we are depleting scarce resources and underminingecosystems with our excessively high demand and throughput of materials. Weare destroying the preconditions for future generations to live in peace andprosperity. The Czech Presidency has several proposals on the table to promoteeco-innovation and recycling. They are on their own modest, but they should bestrengthened rather than ignored. It will depend not only on the Ministry of theEnvironment but in the case of concrete proposals it needs the cooperation of theMinistry of the Economy.We are quickly approaching 2010, the year the decline of biodiversity in Europewas meant to have been stopped. This deadline was outlined in a strong political3