Only 3 states to deliver on Paris pledge

EUROPE: Only three countries in Europe are on track to deliver on the Paris climate agreement, a new ranking published today reveals.

Carbon Market Watch and Transport & Environment’s new climate leaderboard looks at the position of each European government towards the EU’s largest climate law, the Effort Sharing Regulation (ESR).

Sweden tops the list, followed by Germany and France. At the other end Poland, Italy, Spain and Czech Republic push to weaken the Commission proposal, countering Europe’s efforts to comply with the Paris agreement.

Covering 60% of the Europe’s total greenhouse gas emissions, the law sets binding national emission reduction targets for the 2021-2030 period for sectors not covered in the emissions trading system, namely transport, buildings, agriculture and waste.

Carlos Calvo Ambel, transport and energy analyst, Transport & Environment, said: “This is the most important climate law that will enable Europe to deliver on the Paris agreement. But the great majority of countries want to rig the law with loopholes so they can continue business as usual. Either Europe follows the lead of Sweden, Germany and France, which are going in the right direction though not far enough, or we should forget about our climate leadership.”

The study can be found here.