European Commission goes through the motions on climate change and clean transport - Main contents

Today the European Commission presented a proposal to distribute greenhouse gas emission reduction efforts towards reaching the EU's 2030 climate target amongst the 28 EU member states (the so called "Effort Sharing Regulation"). The Commission also launched a long-term strategy for a low-carbon transport sector, the fastest growing source of carbon emissions in the EU today.

The Effort Sharing regulation covers the sectors not included in the EU's carbon market, the EU's emissions trading system (about 60% of EU emissions, including transport, agriculture, buildings and waste).

MEP Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy, environment committee coordinator for the ALDE Group responds:

"The Commission goes through the motions on climate change, but fails to show leadership in developing a clean and innovative European economy. Today's plan only delivers the minimum necessary to reach the EU's climate goal, but there is no safety margin built in. The Commission is stuck amongst 28 member state governments struggling to do as little as possible on clean technology investments. Every leaf and tree is counted to avoid real clean investment efforts, while we need a clean and efficient economy to stay competitive."

"Waste recycling, more efficient and comfortable buildings and clean transport offer opportunities for the European economy. We must step up ambition, if we want more jobs and investments and less climate risks for citizens and businesses."