3 May 2007 – The EU and the US have signed an agreement in which they commit to improve climate protection. During the EU-US summit in Washington last Monday, Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel, US President George W. Bush and European Commission President José Manuel Barroso issued a joined statement on climate change and energy issues.  

In the statement, the US and the EU set out a programme of cooperation on climate and energy issues. Ms. Merkel said that the agreement on energy and climate protection is a “significant step forward”.

Both the EU and the US recognized that there is a global problem with greenhouse gases and dependence on oil. Both sides agree that a “swift global policy” is needed to combat climate change. In the declaration they commit themselves to “the ultimate objective of stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system”. Furthermore, the EU and the US stated: “We especially note the importance of advancing energy efficiency, near-zero emissions coal and renewables, including biofuels, in improving our energy security and reducing emissions of greenhouse gases.”

However, as Ms. Merkel stated, “there are different approaches as to how to solve that”. The EU still hopes to reach a global agreement on emissions reductions. But Mr. Bush stated: “We have an obligation to work together to promote the technologies necessary to solve the problem, and encourage the developing world to use those technologies”. The US has set a mandatory target of 20% reduction in gasoline consumption by 2017, which has to be achieved by using biofuels and by increasing fuel economy standards for passenger vehicles.

In the statement the EU and US agree to three common goals for clean energy development. The first goal is to promote advanced coal technologies, such as carbon and capture storage. The EU will establish a mechanism to stimulate the construction by 2015 of a network of 12 demonstration plants of sustainable fossil fuel technologies in commercial power generation. The US will build FutureGen, which is the US first near zero emissions fossil fuel plant by 2012.

Secondly, both sides will develop, deploy and commercialize renewable and alternative energies. The EU has set a binding target of a 20% share of renewable energies in overall EU energy consumption and a binding 10% share of biofuels in overall EU transport fuel consumption by 2020. The US has advanced plans to achieve a 20% reduction in gasoline consumption by 2017, replacing 15% of projected gasoline consumption in 2017.

The third common goal of the EU and the US is to promote energy efficiency. The EU will increase energy efficiency to achieve a saving of 20% of energy consumption compared to projections for 2020. The US will improve energy efficiency through reduction of energy intensity, by an ambitious 30% by 2015, using 2003 as a baseline.

This year, the EU will host with the US a climate and clean energy policy and measures forum in order “to better understand the effectiveness of the wide range of policy instruments”, the statements describes. The statement emphasizes the agreement on cooperation, which will focus on second generation biofuels, hydrogen and fuel cells research, CO2 capture and storage, energy efficiency, renewable energy technologies of mutual interest and the coordination and collaboration on global carbon cycle research.

Also Mr. Barroso is very happy with the statement: “It’s better than what I was planning. I think it was a real progress (…) We have agreed to establish a high-level group, a forum, between the European Union and The American administration to look at the issues. And as Chacheloor Merkel just said, we have to engage others. So now we can go to the G8 in Heiligendamm in June, in Germany, to discuss this issue also with others, that are very relevant for a global solution to a global problem.”

More information:

‘Divisions over global warming threaten EU-US climate meeting’, The Independent, 27-04-2007

2007 EU-US summit statement energy security, efficiency, and climate change in pdf

German Presidency Press Release

White House Press Release

White House Summit Pages