by
N. Peter Kramer
Greenhouse gas emissions should be 27 percent and energy efficiency should be improved by 30 percent. Sofar the European Council failed to agree on the commission’s proposal. When the 28 EU leaders meet again, the end of October, they hope to reach a ‘final decision on the new climate and energy policy framework’.
However, ministers for environment of six Central and Eastern European countries declared this week a strong opposition to binding targets for renewable energy and energy efficiency. The countries are the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria and Romania.
The EU share of renewable energy consumption was 14,1 percent in 2012 but that average conceals big regional differences. Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Czech Republic are below that average, with shares between 9.6 and 11.2 percent. Most of the six rely heavily on coal, which is one of the energy sources that emit the most carbon dioxide.
There are only three weeks to go before the European Council is to make a final decision on new climate goals for 2030. Let’s not expect too much of it. Who in the EU cares really about climate change…
