Spain supports the European proposal to revise upwards the objective of reducing emissions with equity, efficiency and solidarity
1 October 2020- At the Informal Council of EU Environment Ministers, the Vice President and Minister for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Teresa Ribera, expressed Spain’s support for the Commission’s proposal to increase the Community’s emissions reduction target to at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990, in line with the goal that Spain has defended and promoted.
“According to the impact study presented by the European Commission, increasing the emissions reduction target is not only an obligation before the United Nations, but also an essential step to relocate us to the most cost-effective scenario for the complete decarbonisation of the European economy”, the Vice-President stressed.
Ribera has stressed the need for this transition “to be made with the greatest equity and efficiency, developing mechanisms to support the sectors and territories”, and has called on all public and private actors to take an active part in this process. “We must take advantage of the opportunities for industry and for European society, for innovation and knowledge, but also facilitate solidarity between countries and with the groups most affected by the transformation towards a fully decarbonised economy”, he added.
At this informal Council of Ministers, convened by the German Presidency, ministers discussed for the first time the European Commission’s proposal to increase the emissions reduction target. On this aspect, the Vice-President pointed out that the increase in ambition “is necessary to achieve the objective of climate neutrality in 2050 and that, in view of the Commission’s analysis, it is possible in economic terms and beneficial for Europe and its citizens”. In this sense, Ribera stressed that “developing the right strategies will be key for our industry and our private sector, and will allow us to make good use of the unprecedented resources that will be mobilised in the Recovery Plan in Europe”.
Following the Commission’s announcement and the presentation of the impact assessment for increasing the EU’s climate objective, this meeting of ministers kicks off discussions that will enable European leaders to adopt and submit to the United Nations, before the end of the year, a new emissions reduction objective (NDC), in line with the timetable set out in the Paris Agreement.
In this context, Ribera pointed out the importance of working with the Commission to develop, in an expeditious manner, the implementation measures that are necessary for the EU to facilitate the fulfilment of the new objective to 2030, ensuring the necessary changes at the sectoral level and guaranteeing a fair transition for people, sectors and territories.
CONSERVATION AND PUBLIC HEALTH
During the meeting, the chairperson of the International Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) presented the experts’ report on biodiversity and pandemics to the environment ministers. The connection between the loss of biodiversity and the origin of pandemics, based on the scientific evidence established by IPBES, the main scientific coordination body in this area, and the search for more appropriate response measures, were the focus of much of the ministerial debate.
“We have stressed the importance of protecting today’s ecosystems and strengthening their resilience. But also the importance of facilitating ecological restoration and understanding with a unique approach: health, climate, environment and biodiversity, food generation and food security, or water. We are aware of the close link between the balance of ecosystems and our health, and we must make progress in strengthening the control of movements, of the trade in species outside their areas, or in favouring resilience and restoration, because we know that it will help to reduce the appearance of new pandemics,” explained the vice-president.
Spain shares the European Union’s view that ambitious biodiversity conservation targets need to be set in the context of the future post-2020 framework to ensure a global response to the current ecological and health crisis, but argues that this framework must also include an explicit recognition of the important role of biodiversity for health and the fight against and prevention of pandemics, as well as a reference to the “One Health” approach that demonstrates this connection.
“Much remains to be done and we must work beyond 2020 on achieving biodiversity protection targets and the pathways to meet them. The failure to meet the targets agreed in Aichi in 2010 obliges us to strengthen national action and international cooperation, to mainstream biodiversity protection into agricultural and trade policies, to ensure a better understanding of the consequences of the destruction of ecosystem balances or the displacement of species from their original habitats. “This is particularly relevant on a day like today, when the Secretary-General is calling on the heads of state and government of the United Nations to demonstrate their commitment to protecting biodiversity”, concluded Ribera.
The Vice-President also pointed out the role that the control and regulation of wildlife trade, the resilience of ecosystems, ecological restoration, the strengthening and effective management of protected areas and the control of the entry of invasive alien species play in reducing the risk of the emergence of new pandemics, and she conveyed the need to act and work beyond 2020 in order to achieve biodiversity protection targets. “Although this issue is part of governments’ priorities, we have not yet been able to secure protection targets over the last ten years as we agreed in Aichi in 2010,” she stressed.
Source: https://www.miteco.gob.es/es/prensa/201001npministerialinformalma_tcm30-513610.pdf
This translation was produced by a machine, no liability is accepted for errors or mistakes.
