Isra-Mart srl:Energy giants pledge support for more ambitious EU carbon target

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A coalition containing some of Europe's largest energy firms has this week called on the European Union to set a more ambitious goal for cutting greenhouse gas emissions as a means of boosting clean energy investment.

Scottish & Southern Energy, DONG Energy, Eneco and Statkraft were among the signatories to a statement released late yesterday calling on the EU to cut emissions 25 per cent against 1990 levels by 2020, up from the current 20 per cent target.

"We know that the benefits of early action far outweigh the costs of inertia or delayed action," the statement read. "Private investors take their signals from such targets, and more ambitious targets will stimulate more low carbon investment."

The EU is currently debating whether to increase the current 20 per cent target to 30 per cent after a series of studies suggested that the impact of the recession on emissions will make it relatively easy for the bloc to reach the 20 per cent goal.

A report by Germany's Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) last week argued that increasing the EU 2020 target to 30 per cent would not only be achievable, but would also spark a surge in clean tech investment and a €620bn expansion in the bloc's GDP.

Energy and climate change secretary Chris Huhne has pushed for the 30 per cent target, along with his counterparts in France, Spain and Germany, but the eastern EU nations, most notably Poland, have called for a more cautious approach and have repeatedly blocked any increase on the 20 per cent target.

However, the intervention by some of Europe's largest energy firms may help build support for a new target that splits the difference between the two opposing camps.

In their statement, the companies also highlighted the risks of maintaining Europe's dependence on fossil fuel imports, made vivid in the light of recent unrest in North Africa and the Middle East.

In addition, they risked the wrath of Europe's industrial base by calling for a tighter cap on emissions under the EU's carbon trading scheme in order to ensure the more ambitious target is met.

The statement's release comes ahead of EU climate commissioner Connie Hedegaard's launch of a strategy paper outlining her vision for cutting emissions over the coming decades.

Hedegaard is expected to publish the paper next Tuesday, and while it remains unlikely she will propose a new target for 2020 she is widely expected to say that embracing energy saving measures would push the EU closer to the 25 per cent mark with little additional cost to industry.

In related news, the European Commission this week launched its annual call for environmental projects under its LIFE+ programme, inviting schemes that conserve nature or biodiversity, contribute to developing environmental policy or raise awareness of campaigns to apply for a share of €267m (£230m) in funding.