UPDATE (02/06/2017): President Trump has announced that the US will be withdrawing from the Paris Agreement. The UN deal on climate change anyway didn’t include legally-binding measures, and so the move from Trump is largely symbolic. Nevertheless, could it encourage other countries to follow? And, as America is the largest emitter of carbon dioxide in the world after China, will the rest of the world be able to meet the goals laid down in the Paris Agreement without the US? Is the European Union poised to once again (alongside China) assume a leading role in the fight against climate change?
ORIGINAL (18/08/2016): Michael Phelps isn’t the only one breaking records this summer. July 2016 was the hottest summer on record (despite some people believing otherwise). The world is getting hotter.
Over the past century, the global temperature has climbed by 0.7 degrees centigrade, almost 10 times faster than the average rate of ice-age recovery warming. Scientists warn that catastrophic climate change will occur if the temperature increases over 1.5 degrees centigrade, which doesn’t leave us with much wiggle room (and some believe it’s already too late).
It’s not all bad news, though. At the Paris UN climate summit in December 2015, 195 countries signed the first legally-binding climate deal. That deal was spurred on, in large part, by consensus between the US and China that climate change needed to be tackled. So, are the US and China the global leaders now in the fight against global warming?
Traditionally, the EU has seen itself as the international lead on climate action. It has committed to binding climate targets, such as the EU climate strategy for 2020, including a 20% increase in energy to be produced by renewables, 20% lower greenhouse gas emissions, and a 20% increase in energy efficiency by the year 2020.
However, ultimately, are the US and China (the world’s biggest emitters of CO2) in the driving seat? As the EU struggles to avoid disintegration, amid rising populist anger, will it still be able to maintain a leading role on environmental issues?
Curious to know more about the EU’s role in tackling climate change? We’ve put together some facts and figures in the infographic below (click for a bigger version).
Can the EU continue to play a leading role tackling climate change? Amid rising populist anger, will Europe be able to maintain a leading role on environmental issues? Let us know your thoughts and comments in the form below, and we’ll take them to policymakers and experts for their reactions!
IMAGE CREDITS: CC / Flickr – Asian Development Bank
The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Well, I would agree that the cooperation between the US and China over the last couple of years has created a dynamic that has been very important, in particular in terms of the international climate negotiations. However, that doesn’t mean that Europe has become unimportant. I think that Europe, together with other countries – mostly smaller countries like small island states and small countries in Africa, etc., has also been creating its own dynamic. And both of these dynamics contributed to the outcome of the Paris climate summit.
Going into Paris, the European Union looked like a toothless tiger. It had low ambition in terms of its climate targets, it was paralysed by the Member States not agreeing, and therefore at the start of the Paris climate conference, it looked like the EU had lost some of its prowess. But, towards the end of the climate summit, it brought together many countries in a wider international coalition in support of a long-term goal to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, in order to limit global temperature increase to 1.5°C.
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I believe the question should be made the other way arround. “Can eu afford not”, and even then the answer is of course it has to!
quando il business è fuori , escluso da decisioni per il bene comune di tutti , fatto da esperti scienziati STATALI liberi dal business, allora ci sta fiducia nel cittadino del mondo che una decisione sia sincera , sia veritiera, sia accettata , compresa la lotta al “cambiamento climatico “
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Why would anyone listen to Brussels when it can’t keep one of its largest members in its union ?, the EU’s credibility as been destroyed & it will increasing be seen as a joke & ignored.
Why would anyone listen to crumbling, low productivity low payed hostile anti Europeans?
Since climate change effects Europe then there is no alternative…..
P.S. Stupid topic for debate because the question is not “can” but “how”
It can and it does
Yes as long as you keep talking about everything else apart the transport industry. …it is about time isn’t it?
Sure it can. More renewables policies because they also create jobs and industries in Europe. Go green industry in Europe!
Time to make all city buses of the EU only electric!
By This post. ..
.. shell all the Europeans knows that.. many of the refugees are waiting to come in the EU..
.. .because without fields..without farmers.. without agriculture.. they just haven’t nothing to lose.
Here ‘s the answer.
Thank you for posting.
Eco concerns all. Especially this beautifull continent that everyone admires.
Why ask & who really knows? The EU politburo who has already “ordered” targets to be met by 2020 under an EU directive”:
https://ec.europa.eu/energy/en/topics/renewable-energy/renewable-energy-directive
Will science, the private economy and unknown global events be considerate to EU politicians dictates?
https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2013-08-20/why-science-and-politics-don-t-mix
No, we need industry and workplaces! Look at China what they do!
Can not… to play alone is not fair…
soon we’ll be paying for BRIC’s and US mistakes
100% wind , solar and hydro is very simple and cheap to achieve.
NOTHING is more simple and cheaper for the EU than to create energy security but the EU is barrier to it. I could do it , I could solve energy supply for the EU for the next 50 Years for less money then the EU spend under 5 Years for import of dirty energy . HOW ? The tariffs on Chinese made solar panels range from 100% to 110% , we should have it 0% and 0% on electric cars . Remove all tariffs on Chinese made solar panels and help EU manufacturing with example 0,2 Euro/Watt . 100% solar, wind and hydro is very cheap and clean option for the EU. Price for solar panels is under 0,5 Euro/Watt . EU could simple order 2000 gigawatt solar panels for 1000 billion Euro . EU should give for free 10 to 50 kW of solar panels to all EU citizens ( 10 – 500 kW to farmers) willing to install it by themselves . They should pay off those panels with electricity they don’t use also with electricity they send back to the grid. To install it like this is simple and cheap , it is like IKEA furniture : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z04p6-zK5-o
When we have energy we don’t need we should produce hydrogen and store it : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNHwi6IryNI
The paradox is just how much pollution China creates in manufacturing its “green” solar panel
@Vinko
Nobody doubts the usefulness & ongoing advancements in renewable technologies or in small PV systems for home usage. The affordability of a “proper” family home installation using PV, DC/AC solar inverter, storage, UPS & its “limited” component life span is still a major factor for most. (“THEY should pay……”?)
A “PV panel” alone helps nothing! Your amazing wizardry & bold statements based on oversimplification & assumptions is unreal. Ever checked what is happening in the real world? E.g.: http://newclimateeconomy.report/2014/innovation/
I have to say I’m sceptical about exactly how large an impact people are having on climate change. For me renewable energy sources need no more merit than the fact they are renewable I.e. Won’t run out unlike fossil fuels and are much safer than nuclear energy.
But to really get to grips with the question, no I don’t think the EU can remain a world leader in reducing the carbon footprint of our species since this is not a race, it’s a group exercise. At the moment perhaps the EU has a better grasp of what needs doing and is helping to explain it to the rest of the group so everyone can get the concept and agree on a way forward. But frankly with EU manufacturing industry in decline and domestic dwellings already pretty tightly watching their energy efficiency the rest of the group have bigger proportions to offer in terms of carbon footprint reductions.
Although I suppose one way would be to legally mandate vegetarianism and slaughter all livestock. . . . . . . . . But I don’t see that idea catching on.
It is not a matter of “can”. It “has to”!
Otherwise, who else? The USA? China? The AU? Wall Street?
First of all we have to say that the EU plays a leading role causing the climate change. We just have to look at the automotive Industrie to see, that the EU is in the moment not part of the solution, but part of the problem. It is a shame that the EU sells the health of people and of the environment for the profits of a small Elite. We need an immediate change in the EU policy.
Europe is manages by corporations… I guess banks have to much money invested in convetíoal car industries and fossil fuel corporations that their business would be damaged with tons of loses if we would take care of the environment
I nearly melted …and the E.U. has no solution for this problem !!!OR any other for that matter !!!
Please do stop this propaganda. You over blow the power of man to the extent that it is more than mildly amusing. And it is done to bleed ordinary men out of more of his cash. This is a bandwagon to ride on with more for the company accountants to rob us with.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwqIy8Ikv-c
and
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkdbSxyXftc
More than that, I believe much of it is caused by the constant use of the Large Hadron Collider.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpO9Eghln4g
Not only that, I believe this messing with physics, to the extent mankind is, is creating the madness we have in our leaders and their followers. The impotence of those being led is palpable.
climate change is owed to industry, and since the EU is an industry leader certainly it must tackle this issue.
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Given the mess Brussels has made of the economy of the Euro zone we can only hope they stay well away from the climate debate.
EU’s Mission is to create the circumstances for a peaceful transition into clean technology and to teach other nations how to clean their environment. How to clean the oceans, the soil, the drinking water, the air. And EU has to fight against pollutors who are aided by fake scientific reports.
The entire ecosistem is massively destroyed day in and day out…The fight against the destruction of our planet ecosistem is with small exceptions almost null and almost void, thus in such a farse definetly the EU could be the best just by faking it a little bit more than the others…. If you really wanted to do something important you would declare illegal all industrial deforestation occuring savagely on some EU countries…till then keep faking it.
The free trade agreements are used by the TNCs to “export” their pollution to the developing countries instead of investing into clean technologies. >> see NAFTA, for example.
Just follow Portugal s example and we will be ok. :-)
China did most of work , the EU is just like Saudi Arabia . The EU is better on to protect oil consumption than Saudi Arabia . China’s solar and wind energy capacity increased by 74% and 34%, respectively, in 2015, while coal consumption dropped by 3.7%. Specifically, China broke two new records in 2015, installing a record 32.5 GW of wind in 2015, and a record 18.3 GW of solar in 2015 .
100% wind , solar and hydro is very simple and cheap to achieve.
NOTHING is more simple and cheaper for the EU than to create energy security but the EU is barrier to it. I could do it , I could solve energy supply for the EU for the next 50 Years for less money then the EU spend under 5 Years for import of dirty energy . HOW ? The tariffs on Chinese made solar panels range from 100% to 110% , we should have it 0% and 0% on electric cars . Remove all tariffs on Chinese made solar panels and help EU manufacturing with example 0,2 Euro/Watt . 100% solar, wind and hydro is very cheap and clean option for the EU. Price for solar panels is under 0,5 Euro/Watt . EU could simple order 2000 gigawatt solar panels for 1000 billion Euro . EU should give for free 10 to 50 kW of solar panels to all EU citizens ( 10 – 500 kW to farmers) willing to install it by themselves . They should pay off those panels with electricity they don’t use also with electricity they send back to the grid. To install it like this is simple and cheap , it is like IKEA furniture : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z04p6-zK5-o
When we have energy we don’t need we should produce hydrogen and store it : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNHwi6IryNI
The EU did great work on to protect Arab interests the only problem is , we are not Arabs : http://fuelfix.com/blog/2016/04/08/iea-china-japan-u-s-leading-solar-energy-boom/
EU is still one of the worst part of the world if we look at the co2 produced per inhabitant. So before being a leader in international negotiations, we should think to make something here, for real this time.
How about the 20.000 tonnes of CO2 emissions that the EU is creating annually by transferring from Brussels to Strasbourg on a monthly basis, not to mention the 200 million Euros this costs to the taxpayers? What role, are you even serious?
You add 20.000 tonnes of CO2, then tax the crap out of EU citizens for CO2 emissions. The only role you can play, is the one of Bozo the Clown.
“By 2050, the global population is expected to exceed 9 Billion.” but in Europe?? :o (because the title was Europe’s Role in Tackling Climate Change) in Europe, there are other problems! not overpopulation! rather the opposite! the countries should support better the families! :)
anyway are the other datas above also not from the EU? :/
Would be a good starting point not to go to the other side of the planet for oranges or tomatoes. Maybe if we grow our own oranges and tomatoes would decrease the energy consumption. But I do not think corporations in big comercial surfaces will think the same as me.
Infini solar inverter best features is Built-in timer assists the user in ON/OFF operation
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Trump has just given America a massive industrial advantage, not over China as they are still building cheap coal fired power stations but over the EU with its anti business ever closer union dogma & forced closers.
Clever man that Trump.
Yes, he may have ruined the planet for his own country, and everyone else, for the sake of (a potential but not given) short term advantage. USA, Syria and Nicaragua, nice little club of countries with clever leaders.
Then again, you’re only writing your comment as part of your daily anti-Eu spam, which, I may add, have long passed the point of an obsessive behavior. Have you tried contacting a psychologist? I am seriously worried about your mental health.
Patrik Klingborg (Troll)
You started so well with an actual position on Trumps actions and then ruined with with a very typical pro EU fanatical personnel attack of lies.
You will be ignored.
Ivan Burrows, lets talk about lies then. Provide proof of China building coal power stations please.
having a leading role would have to mean understanding the climate change. Probably altered seed plantations are the real menace.
Aceasta este Terra ! Rusii au facut cea mai puternica arma , americanii cel mai mare portavion , Correa de nord moare de foame dar se lauda cu industria lormilitara Quo vadis Dominae !
The EU God complex European elite trying to save the world start by example get out of your car first
Haters gonna hate.
Yeah, the 3 limos of Mr. SHULZ :D
Yes, it should. I hope Trump is the US Gorvachov, to destroy the empire, and Europe will be free from the American clutches.
We can make changes without the liberal brainwashing. All will lose if we don’t tackle global warming now.
We need more investment in renewables and science, and no low iq mostly illiterate Muslim invaders. The most backward religion of them all.
Someone has to step up. If it’s the EU or whoever, it doesn’t matter.
It is strange living on a planet where the human species allow lowly evolved human beings intent on hoarding and increasing immense personal wealth to destroy the very earth we all depend on. And additionally consent to a financial model that causes immense lifelong human suffering for the many.
If only things where that simple…
EU did not offer solution, that is the problem. EU needs to make green energy profitable and to create jobs. This and only this will make other countries copy you
If the true costs of damages provoked by CO2 and other toxic gases and materials where taken into account by who produce them, green energy becomes immediately profitable. Image if a Coal Power Plant had to pay for all the health exams and treatments related to ill inducing pollutants, and other stuff, the cost of generating energy that way would rise up exponentially.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WKoj-kodBwhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WKoj-kodBw
Even those who fight for global warming awareness call Paris accord a scam. EU proves how ineficient and delusional it is. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/dec/12/james-hansen-climate-change-paris-talks-fraud
O futuro é verde sem petróleo, os primeiros a desenvolver vão os que vão ganhar. Mas existe várias ameaças, desflorestação, o plático nos oceanos e a corrupção de politicos que fecham os olhos aos males a troco de algo.