Yesterday, Alternattiva Demokratika set off the ‘climate change clock’ counting down to the deadline for a new post-Kyoto climate deal in December 2009. Green MEP Michael Cramer joined AD Chairperson Arnold Cassola for the event in Valletta.

Ralph Cassar, AD spokesperson on Energy, Industry and Transport said that AD officials have sent a letter to Minister George Pullicino to urge him to convince other EU Ministers to come to an agreement on measures to combat climate change. He said that AD is urging all residents in Malta to send a letter to the Maltese Minister by visiting the website www.stopclimatechange.net. This is the climate change campaign website setup by the European Green Party and the Green Group in the European Parliament.

German Green MEP Michael Cramer called for investment in public transport systems and critcized German Chancellor Angela Merkel for giving in to German car manufacturers and insisting on weakening the rules to limit CO2 emmissions from cars.

AD Chairperson Arnold Cassola said that Malta will suffer if climate change was not tackled seriously. He called on Minister George Pullicino to insist on binding and effective measures when meeting fellow EU environment ministers for talks on the EU position during international negotiations.

Meanwhile AD joined the European Green Party in expressing its concern on the EU backtracking from previous pronouncements on climate change. It doesn’t seem so long ago that the EU was proudly pronouncing its leadership in global efforts to tackle climate change. A year ago, in Bali, the EU was to the fore in securing the agreement of a roadmap for UNFCCC negotiations on a global climate agreement to succeed the Kyoto protocol.

However, with EU governments lining up to shred large chunks of its ‘climate package’ of legislation, the credibility of this claim to leadership is in tatters.

At the start of this week, the European Council and Parliament reached agreement on new rules to limit CO2 emissions from cars…or rather reached agreement to postpone them. The result would mean the cars on the market in 4 years will be no more fuel efficient (or less climate damaging) than the present, while deeper long term improvements are also jeopardised.

EU legislation to limit greenhouse gas emissions from industry and other sectors is also being picked apart. The EU’s proposed emissions trading scheme (which aims to achieve emissions reductions from the power and heavy industry from 2013) risks being undermined and made into a profit generating tool for polluting industries. Not only are EU governments proposing to give a large chunk of industries their emissions permits for free, they are also proposing to outsource emissions reductions, so only half the reduction target would be delivered in the EU.

Legislation on emissions reductions from other sectors is equally under pressure. EU governments want to outsource over 70% of the reductions – meaning that member states will buy credits from projects in third countries to offset reductions they should be making at home. This would leave EU climate policy falling far short of the necessary (domestic) emissions reductions outlined by the UN IPCC.

The only potential silver lining is a law setting out how 20% of EU energy should come from renewable sources. Italy is the main country standing in the way but much of the details have now been agreed.

Worse may be to come, as much of the controversial political issues may be left to heads of state and government at next week’s EU summit (11-12 December) to decide. Some countries are already sharpening their knives to further shred the proposals. With the business end of the UN climate talks also taking place late next week, the timing of this climate policy meltdown could not be worse.

A copy of the website letter is shown in English below:

Dear Minister

Urgent action is needed to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions if we are to avoid dangerous climate change.

The EU needs to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions 30% at the very least by 2020 (based on 1990 levels). According to climate scientists, these reductions need to be delivered in the EU.

As an environment minister, you will be responsible for taking the decisions on EU legislation to deliver these greenhouse gas reductions. Please ensure that this legislation will be strong enough to deliver the necessary 30% emissions reductions within the EU. This means limiting the possibilities for paying to ‘offset’ emissions reductions outside Europe and guaranteeing that the price for CO2 emissions from industry is passed on to the economy and paid by the polluter by providing for the full auctioning of carbon permits.

The EU has a vital role to play in securing a binding international agreement to tackle climate change under the auspices of the UN from 2013 on. The clock is ticking. This agreement must be adopted by December 2009 at the UNFCCC meeting in Copenhagen to ensure the urgently-needed global greenhouse gas emissions reductions take place without delay.

As an environment minister, you will be responsible for the negotiation of this agreement. Please ensure that the future UN framework agreement is based on up-to-date climate science for limiting global warming to avoid dangerous climate change. The agreement will need to recognise the common but differentiated responsibility of different countries. This will mean a pathway of binding reduction targets for industrialised countries. It will also mean setting out a significant, guaranteed source of predictable funding for developing countries for their emissions reductions efforts, including avoiding deforestation and forest degradation, and for helping them adapt to climate change. It will also mean giving binding commitments on the transfer of green technologies from industrialised countries to developing countries.

Please show leadership by taking the necessary action to avoid dangerous climate change.