The European Union together with China will lead the Paris Agreement

The Paris Agreement entered into force and has marked a milestone in the history of the fight against climate change. However, the entry into the presidency of the United States of Donald Trump has not been good news for our planet.

We remember that Donald Trump is a climate change denier And, therefore, the United States will not lead the Paris Agreement even though it is one of the main responsible for CO2 emissions globally. The European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy, Miguel Arias Canete, has assured today that the European Union will lead together with China the fight against climate change, which, now more than ever, needs strong countries to champion it.

Leaders in the Paris Agreement

Cañete has already recalled that in the former Kyoto ProtocolThe United States also abandoned and did not comply with the established agreements. However, this time it is different. The union of all countries to fight climate change is becoming more and more tangible.

The Kyoto protocol is still in force until 2020, which will be when it is replaced by the Paris Agreement. We recall that, although the Paris Agreement has entered into force, it is pursuing to increase climate action and transparency mechanisms before 2020, so that in these summits rules are achieved that make the Paris Agreement operational. It also serves to lay the foundations for countries to implement their plans to combat climate change as of 2020.

In the opinion of Arias Cañete, the European Union is ready to lead the energy transition towards a new low-carbon development model. In addition, you know that the situation in which you do not receive support from the US we have had before, and even so you can get ahead. It is also the EU that has the most ambitious gas reduction targets and is the one that most supports developing countries.

Achieve a carbon-free model by 2050

Cañete recalled that the European Union has allocated 17.600 billion to climate finance in 2015, that 90% of the resources of the International Climate Change Adaptation Fund has been contributed by the region, which has also contributed 4.700 billion to the Green Climate Fund, approximately half of the endowment of this fund.

Reduce global CO2 emissions and spearhead the energy transition it is a great challenge in the fight against climate change. In order to achieve these ambitious objectives, it is necessary to prepare and detail the legislation necessary to comply with the Paris Agreement. Cañete has stated that the EU will register a decarbonisation plan detailing the path to not emit CO2 in 2050.

But of course, Cañete's decision requires the participation of all the member states of the European Union. The European Commission is going to require each of the Member States the realization of a comprehensive energy and climate plan, the draft of which must be presented in 2018 for review and subsequent approval in 2019, the date on which each country must also have completed its decarbonization strategy for 2050.

New energy transition plans

In order to address the transformations necessary to lead the energy transition, Cañete affirms that A horizontal debate must be opened to be able to make energy and climate plans. In addition, the Government must involve the economic affairs commission in the preparation of the plan, since this is not the responsibility of the energy and environment departments alone.

To achieve the energy transition towards a cleaner and more sustainable development model, it is essential the development of renewable energies and encourage R&D grants for the development and innovation of technology that improves energy efficiency. Long-term policies are needed in governments and not just policies aimed at winning the elections.