EUU, Alm.del - 2019-20 - Bilag 255: Breve til nyudnævnte kommissærer

Europaudvalget 2019-20
EUU Alm.del Bilag 255
Offentligt

The Minister

Date

30 November 2019

Dear Mr. Timmermans,

Congratulations on your new position as Executive Vice-President for the Green

Deal in the European Commission. We wish the best for a successful mandate.

Ambitious action is urgently needed to curb climate change and stop the global

environmental degradation. The EU can and must play a leading role in global

climate action. The EU can support the green transition of Member States through

cost effective policies. EU policies are key to greening the European continent.

And only through effective and coordinated EU action can we spur the global ac-

tion that is required.

The Danish Government therefore strongly supports

the Commission’s endeav-

our to make Europe a front-runner in the global green transition and warmly wel-

comes the proposal for a

European Green Deal

by the new Commission.

Of immediate urgency, the European Council in December should agree on the

objective of

climate neutrality in the EU by 2050

at the latest to be included in

an ambitious binding EU Climate Law. Furthermore, the EU should commit itself

to setting targets and implementing policies and measures to limit the global av-

erage temperature increase to 1.5 C in line with the Paris Agreement.

In order to meet the objectives of the Paris Agreement, the

EU’s

2030 target

must

be increased to at least 55 percent. Member States should agree upon this in the

first half of 2020 and submit it to the UNFCCC as the EU’s updated

Nationally

Determined Contribution as early as possible in 2020

in order to leverage

higher global ambition in the run-up to COP26 in Glasgow.

An increased 2030 target should be implemented in the most

cost effective way.

The ETS is the most cost effective market based instrument driving the green

transition in the covered sectors. The ETS should be further strengthened, as

there is scope for making it even more effective.

Our

long-term ambition

to be

climate neutral by 2050

at the latest must be the

guiding principle in revising existing regulation towards 2030 as well as for intro-

ducing new additional measures.

To make climate neutrality a reality, we need to speed up the pace of our transition

efforts. This requires that we

accelerate the deployment of renewable energy

Danish Ministry of Climate,

Energy and Utilities

Holmens Kanal 20

1060 Copenhagen K

P: +45 3392 2808

E: [email protected]

www.kefm.dk

Side 1/2

EUU, Alm.del - 2019-20 - Bilag 255: Breve til nyudnævnte kommissærer

in the EU. In recent years, we have seen a rapid development in both wind power

and solar panels, as the costs have reduced significantly. Yet, going forward we

need to ensure an effective price on carbon emissions to spur investments in

renewable energy and a

phase-out of fossil fuels.

In particular,

offshore wind

is showing a great potential, but in order to utilise this

fully, we will need to make sure that there is an enabling EU-framework in place

and to significantly strengthen regional cooperation in the North Sea, the Baltic

Sea and other coastal regions.

Transport is the only major sector in the EU where greenhouse gas emissions are

still increasing. It is important that CO

-emissions are limited across the European

economy and that the

transition towards zero-emission mobility

is acceler-

ated. The uptake of zero-emission passenger cars needs to accelerate dramati-

cally in the EU over the coming years and decades. Denmark urges the Commis-

sion to present a plan with proposals for policy initiatives and incentives for the

transition to a fleet of zero-emission passenger cars.

The

Common Agricultural Policy

should to a greater extent support European

agriculture to produce

in accordance with EU’s objective on water environment,

biodiversity and climate. Denmark wants an even

greener Common Agricultural

Policy.

Climate neutrality by 2050 at the latest should also be the guiding principle

for the

Environmental Action Programme.

The EU should continue to

lead the way internationally

when it comes to climate

action. As a prerequisite to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement, we must en-

gage other global partners to increase ambition and ensure delivery of SDG7 on

access to sustainable energy. Climate and environmental priorities should also to

a greater extent be integrated into EU trade policy, through the strengthening of

chapters on trade and sustainable development

in new trade agreements,

lib-

eralisation of tariffs

and reduction of non-tariff barriers on

green products and

services.

Denmark looks forward to the Commission analysis on the possibilities

to introduce a

Carbon Border Tax

with due respect to WTO rules.

Attached you will find a paper with more detailed proposals for how we can pursue

climate and environment objectives in the EU across a broad spectrum of policy

areas. The Danish government very much looks forward to cooperating with you

and the rest of the new Commission in making the European Green Deal a reality.

Yours sincerely,

Dan Jørgensen

Page 2/2