An “Atlantic Rendez-Vous” TV satellite debate between Washington DC and Brussels
Co-organised by Friends of Europe, the European Commission Delegation to the US and Gallup Europe
These policy recommendations represent the outcome of the fifth Atlantic Rendez-Vous (ARV) project in Friends of Europe’s 2006-2007 ARV series. The ARV series is an initiative of Friends of Europe in collaboration with the European Commission Delegation to the US and Gallup Europe. It aims to create a platform for enhanced dialogue and policy debate between the EU and the US on key transatlantic issues.
The pioneering transatlantic satellite format that connects Brussels and Washington in a lively TV-style debate, and the contributions of a wide range of American and European experts, make Friends of Europe’s ARV series unique in its genre and represent an unprecedented attempt to create a transatlantic platform for debate.
Policy recommendations:
Co-operate on building a consensus for a post-Kyoto agreement. For efforts to tackle greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions to be successful, large emitters in the developing world must become involved. If the US is absent from the process, it is too easy for emerging economies to say they will not get involved until the West deals with the problem. If there is a developed world consensus that past emitters of large quantities of GHGs must cut their emissions, the future large emitters such as China, India, Brazil, Russia, Mexico and South Africa are more likely to take steps to move to a low-carbon economy. Time is running out, so diplomatic efforts must be stepped up.
Create a US-wide carbon market. There are encouraging signs that cap and trade is becoming accepted in the US, but the Western States Initiative and the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) are not enough – the US needs a nationwide market to ensure the whole country is engaged in cutting emissions and to set an example to developing countries. A carbon market implies a commitment to binding caps on emissions.
Look at ways to link the European carbon market with other carbon markets around the world. Once carbon markets have been established around the world, there should be co-operation to ensure that opportunities to cut emissions are fully exploited.
Engage and educate public opinion about the requirements of a low-carbon economy. Many of the measures that will be required to meet emissions targets will not be possible without widespread public understanding and acceptance. Public understanding and concern over climate change is at an all-time high, but many uncertainties remain. Governments need to incorporate public education into their climate change strategies and lead by example by incorporating sustainability criteria into every facet of their operations.
Introduce policies to encourage demand management. Companies have no incentive to encourage customers to consume less – they are under pressure to maximise profits, and the only way for them to do this is to sell more. For business to encourage a reduction in energy consumption, structural changes to the economy are needed. Regulations and standards on energy consumption of appliances, vehicles and buildings need to be strengthened.
Facilitate transfer of technology. It is no good developed countries cutting their emissions by ‘exporting’ them to emerging markets. Developing countries need low-carbon technologies and this can be encouraged by stricter standards and technology transfer programmes.
Make CCS a priority. The use of coal in power generation, particularly in China and India, is accelerating at such a pace and is such a big source of pollution that finding a way to eliminate the emissions from coal power stations is an absolute priority. CCS is costly, large scale and a long way from commercialisation. A whole range of policies and actions is needed, from accelerating R&D to arranging for coal (and other fossil fuel) power stations around the world to be retrofitted.
Make it easier to install renewable energy projects. In the UK, 11GW of wind power projects were held up in the planning process at the end of last year. Too often, renewable energy installation is held up by antiquated and bureaucratic planning regulations and obstructive officials. Speeding up the permitting process will improve the economics of renewable energies and enable emissions to be cut
Incorporate analysis of the effects of climate change into national security strategic planning. Climate change will change the nature of the challenges many countries face in future, exacerbating many natural disasters and reducing the ability of the poorest countries to deal with catastrophic events. Europe and the US need to be aware that they will be called upon to deal with conflicts around the world caused by or worsened by global warming and plan accordingly.
Ensure development aid is “climate-proof”. Providing funding for projects that will increase emissions is utterly self-defeating – aid budgets need to be re-examined from a carbon perspective to ensure that not only are they contributing to economic development but also that they are working for the environmental benefit of aid recipients.
Contributors to this ARV series include:
Olivier Appert, Chairman and CEO of the Institut Français du Pétrole and Chairman of the EU Biofuels Technology Platform; Michael K. Blevins, Director of Government Affairs, Gas Appliance Manufacturers Association, US; Eileen Claussen, President, Pew Center on Global Climate Change and former Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, US Department of State; Ana Unruh Cohen, Chief Scientist, Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, US House of Representatives; Fernando Conte, President, Iberia; Roscoe Bartlett, Member of the Science Committee Subcommittee on Energy and Environment, US House of Representatives; Jacques Beaudry Losikue, Programme Director for Biomass and Biofuels, US Department of Energy; Jos Delbeke, Director for Climate Change and Air, European Commission Directorate General for the Environment; Francis Dietz, Senior Director, Public Affairs, Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute, USA; Michael Diekmann, Chief Executive Officer, Allianz; Rolf Eriksson, State Secretary for Agriculture, Sweden; Raffaello Garofalo, Secretary General, European Biodiesel Board (EBB); Connie Hedegaard, Minister for the Environment, Denmark; Jean-Michel Gires, Executive Vice-President, Sustainable Development and Environment, Total; Sherri Goodman, General Counsel, The CNA Corporation, US; Thomas O. Gray, Deputy Executive Director, American Wind Energy Association; Jason Grumet, Executive Director, National Commission on Energy Policy, US; Fritz Henn, Associate Director for Life Sciences, Brookhaven National Laboratory, US; Martin Hill, Vice President, Defence, Thales; Alexander Karsner, Assistant Secretary of Energy for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, US Department of Energy; Michael P. Lacy, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, US; Bogusław Liberadzki MEP, Member of the European Parliament Committee on Transport and Tourism, former Polish Minister for Transport and Maritime Economy; Frank E. Loy, Member of the Board, Pew Center on Global Climate Change and former Undersecretary for Global Affairs, US Department of State; Harold F. McFarlane, President, American Nuclear Society, US; Jacqueline McGlade, Executive Director, European Environment Agency (EEA); Bert Metz, Co-Chairman, Working Group III on Mitigation, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC); Jaroslav Mil, President, Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic; Jennifer Morgan, Director, Energy Programme, Third Generation Environmentalism (E3G); Pierre Moscovici, Deputy Chairman of the Delegation for Relations with the European Union, French National Assembly; David A. Norcross, Executive Committee Member, Republican National Committee, US; Michael Parr, Senior Manager for Global Affairs, DuPont, US; William A. Pizer, Senior Fellow, Resources for the Future, US; Jimmie Powell, Director for Government Relations and Head of the Energy Team, The Nature Conservancy, US; Poul Nyrup Rasmussen MEP, Member of the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs and President of the Party of European Socialists; Margaret L. Ryan, Editorial Director, Platts Global Nuclear & Coal; Steve Sawyer, Secretary General, Global Wind Energy Council; Hosein Shapouri, Senior Agricultural Economist, Office of Energy Policy and New Uses, US Department of Agriculture; Phillip V. H. Slayden, Director, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, US; Gustavo Suárez Pertierra, President, Real Instituto Elcano de Estudios Internacionales y Estratégicos, Spain; Graham Sweeney, CEO Shell Renewables and President Shell Hydrogen; Miguel Veiga-Pestana, Vice-President, Global External Affairs, Unilever; Robert Verrue, European Commission Director General for Taxation and Customs Union; Björn von Sydow, Member, National Parliament, Sweden; Charles F. Wald, General, United States Air Force (Ret.); Anders Wijkman MEP, Member of the European Parliament Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety.
About the project
These recommendations have been drawn from the following sources:
A Friends of Europe/Gallup Europe opinion poll of leaders on both sides of the Atlantic on a range of climate change and biofuels issues;
The TV-satellite debate entitled “What transatlantic agenda for the global climate challenge?”, held simultaneously in Brussels and Washington DC on June 14, 2007;
A round of high-level interviews with political, government, business, NGO and academic figures in Europe and the US.
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