Stop Climate Chaos welcomes European Parliament vote on climate change response

On Tuesday 7th October the European Parliament's Environment Committee voted on two important reports on the European Commission's response to climate change.

Hundreds of campaigners emailed MEPs on the committee to call for more support to developing countries and for EU action to reduce emissions.

Delivering for developing countries

Stop Climate Chaos welcomes the vote by MEPs to use 50% of revenues from the auctioning of emission permits for developing countries to use to tackle climate change. In another vote the committee voted for €10 billion assistance by 2020 for adaptation in developing countries, crucially, in addition to existing aid commitments.

Tackling the causes of climate change

Stop Climate Chaos would have liked MEPs to do more by committing the EU to at least 30% emissions reductions by 2020 (rather than 20%). However, the committee did well to resist further weakening of the target, and we welcome that the 30% target is automatically triggered when an international climate change deal is agreed.

Irish MEP Avril Doyle, who was Rapporteur responsible for one of the reports, was widely credited with seeing off an attempted 'mutiny' from within her own party. She successfully carried through all but one of the compromise amendments in her report. Significantly, a series of industry-backed amendments that would have significantly weakened the policy were averted.

Campaigner power...and more needed

The outcome of the committee vote attests to the power of people letting their MEPs know they care and are watching. Stop Climate Chaos would like to thank all of you who took the time to contact your MEPs.

These positive actions however are just the first step. The European Council and the Parliament have got to agree on the final text. Later this month the European Environment Ministers and the Heads of State will meet. We hope they follow the European Parliament and show the necessary leadership to ensure the EU does its fair share on climate change.