EU nations chafe as the climate change bill comes in

BRUSSELS (AFP) — Less than a year after challenging the world to a race to stop global warming, European Union nations are bickering over who should carry the biggest burden in the EU’s push to cut greenhouse gases.

Now starkly aware of the cost their commitments could imply, the 27 nations have been lobbying the European Commission hard as it prepares to unveil Wednesday a package of measures meant to achieve Europe’s climate goals.

Whether it is Germany with its auto industry, nuclear minded France, coal-dependent central Europe or the environment-friendly Nordic nations, all know they will struggle to meet targets the Commission is ready to impose.

Just nine months ago, EU leaders agreed with great fanfare to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 20 percent by 2020, against 1990 levels, which they judged to be the best way to stop the planet heating by two degrees Celsius.

As an incentive to the world’s major polluters, they offered to go 10 percent better, cutting emissions by 30 percent over the same period if others were prepared to match it.

The leaders also set a binding target for renewable energy to provide 20 percent of Europe’s needs by 2020, compared to 8.5 percent currently, and agreed that this should be achieved by some countries doing more than others.

“The specialities and peculiarities of each country will have to be taken into consideration,” warned German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose country held the EU presidency.

In the run up to Wednesday’s announcement, they are all clamouring to be taken into consideration, with Germany’s environment and economics ministries part of the chorus of criticism.

German industrialists estimate the measures could endanger one million jobs.

For the Commission, coming up with the calculations to achieve the EU’s goals — through proposals to bolster emissions trading and national targets on carbon dioxide cuts and renewable energy use — has proved a thankless task.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy wrote to its chief Jose Manuel Barroso imploring him to calculate the targets based on the amount of pollution currently produced per inhabitant, rather than on gross domestic product (GDP).

France wants greater consideration taken of its wide use of nuclear power.

Nordic nations too are bristling. With Europe’s most impeccable environmental credentials, Denmark, Finland and Sweden were seeking reward for their already substantial efforts.

But they could be penalised for their relative wealth, with Sweden likely to be asked to derive half its energy from renewable sources, Finland 40 percent and Denmark 32 percent.

At the other end of the scale, ex-communist states, already battling to bridge the EU’s economic gulf, complain they have to overcome a legacy of environmental abuse and energy intensive industries.

Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain — which have become richer as members of the EU but have done little to reduce greenhouse gas emissions — are also likely to be hit hard.

But a week before the package was to be released, a defiant Barroso vowed not to compromise, even though the method of calculation does not yet have unanimous support in the Commission itself.

“Do not expect us to compromise on European interests,” he said. “Both our international credibility and credibility before European Union citizens depend on fulfilment of the targets.”

“It is essential to meet the three central challenges that the European Union faces in energy: competitivenesss, sustainability and security of supply,” he said.

In the end, the Commission’s calculations are bound to be modified, as the proposals are picked apart by the EU nations and the European Parliament over the next several months.

And while the targets will be legally binding, any action taken to fine a country that fails to respect them by 2020 would take years, dragging through EU infringement procedures and the courts.

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