CEEP Calls for Ambitious, Binding and Regularly-Reviewed COP21 Agreement

Ahead of the COP 21 in Paris, CEEP calls for the conclusion of an ambitious, binding and regularly reviewed agreement, tackling both mitigation and adaptation. Europe’s efforts in CO2 reduction are of fundamental importance, but the EU cannot remain a lonely leader.  Paris should be seen as the beginning of a dynamic process that leads to better implementation of a possible agreement, with verification and monitoring tools.

European providers of public services support ambitious climate action. CEEP members are committed to climate action through their business culture and their sectors of activity, with an approach based on the logics of sustainability, taking into account its environmental aspects, as well as its economic and social dimensions.

Mitigation policies should take a comprehensive approach and be structured around resource efficiency and decarbonisation. Public services sectors such as transport, telecommunications, energy, waste management and water treatment, as well as R&D have an important mitigation potential.  In order to fully exploit this potential, the current orientation in Europe to put into place a European Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) must imperatively provide a true and fair carbon price, creating a level-playing field in order to incentivise investments that foster the decarbonisation of the EU.

Adaption policies should be seen as complementary to mitigation policies as they provide measures needed to tackle the negative consequences due to climate change. Adaptation measures should include the protection of infrastructure in order to increase their resilience. The implications of climate change on sectors such as water, energy and transport, need to be urgently considered.

Climate change policies cannot ignore the investment challenge. There is a strong economic case for investing in climate action as this will create the sustainable growth and jobs Europe needs. In order to unleash the full potential of investments in climate-friendly solutions, private investment needs to be underpinned by public investment.