The newly-elected European Parliament faces a tough challenge in convincing the world to agree on an ambitious climate deal in the midst of an economic recession.
The incoming Parliament is taking office amid global negotiations for a treaty to replace the 1997 Kyoto Protocol on climate change.
However, there is concern that the recession could hamper the EU's priorities in respect to cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Marie-Hélène Fandel, a European Policy Centre (EPC) analyst, believes the EU's climate ambitions could be watered down under the new Parliament.
The major European parties consider it important that the EU takes a leading role and encourages other nations to follow its lead, particularly as it is the only region to have committed to the ambitious target of slashing greenhouse gas emissions to 20% below 1990 levels by 2020. It remains to be seen whether the EU will end up raising this goal to 30%, as it has pledged to do, should other industrialised countries commit to comparable goals.
Approval for a 30% target could prove problematic, as governments may have little appetite for more domestic action in the ongoing economic situation.
Nonetheless, a shift to clean energy to cut emissions and create green growth is on all the major parties' to-do lists. The European People's Party (EPP) manifesto reads, "Europe should become the market leader in green technology based on more and better research and development." The EPP, the largest European party, is calling for the share of renewable energy in the bloc's energy mix to increase to at least 20% by 2020. The Greens have set a long-term goal to source all energy from renewables and the Socialists are calling for a European strategy for smart green growth.
Energy-saving policies strike a chord with the European electorate, but questions remain as to the extent to which the Parliament actually represents European citizens' interests. The EPC's, Marie-Hélène Fandel said, "When it comes to the climate, an important issue is to what extent there is a fair representation of what people want. When polled, people are enthusiastic about having more energy-efficiency measures at EU level." She added, "But I don't have the impression that the Parliament is translating these wishes into policy."
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