Europe's 'Big 3' want higher emissions target

The three most influential members in the EU have released a joint statement claiming that not aiming for 30 will put Europe in the "slow lane" for low-carbon investment. All three countries agree that the original target of a 20 reduction from 1990 emissions levels by 2020 is now "insufficient to drive the low-carbon transition" and that Europe runs the risk of falling behind China, Japan and the U.S. in this area.

A higher emissions target would mean stricter targets for energy companies. The joint statement was penned by UK Energy Minister Chris Huhne, German Environmental Minister Norbert Roettgen, and French Ecology Minister Jean-Louis Borloo.

In May, the European Commission announced that it wanted to raise Europe's carbon emissions reduction target from 20 to 30 by 2020, but stopped short of trying to implement the policy. At the time, both Germany and France initially were against a blanket rise of reduction targets, but the joint statement with the UK demonstrates support for such an increase.

"A global race to lock in a sustainable low-carbon economy has begun," said the joint statement. "Europe's economic competitors are not hanging back. We are convinced that Europe has the capability — but it does not yet have the right incentives for changing investment patterns. A key barrier is the EU's current emissions target, a 20 per cent reduction from 1990 levels by 2020, a target that seems now insufficient to drive the low-carbon transition. The EU should adopt an emissions target that represents a real incentive for innovation and action in the international context: a 30 per cent reduction by 2020."

The three countries argue that the recession has already helped reduce emissions by about 11 in Europe and that the current price of carbon is far too low to stimulate significant investment in green jobs and technologies. "If we stick to a 20 per cent cut, Europe is likely to lose the race to compete in the low-carbon world to countries such as China, Japan or the U.S. — all of whom are looking to create a more attractive investment environment by introducing low-carbon policy frameworks and channeling their stimulus packages into low-carbon investment."

European companies control a 22 share of the global market for low-carbon goods and services, but France, Germany and the UK believe the rest of the world is catching up:

"The Copenhagen commitments, though less ambitious than we had hoped, have triggered widespread action, notably in China, India and Japan. The case for early action becomes even more compelling when you take into account the reduction in cost estimates. Because of reduced emissions in the recession, the annual costs in 2020 of meeting the existing 20 per cent target are down a third from 70 billion euros US $91 billion to 48 billion euros $62 billion. A move up to 30 per cent is now estimated to cost only an extra 11 billion euros $14 billion more than the original cost of achieving a 20 per cent reduction."