Last week, the Eastern European steel manufacturers said that the Paris Agreement would make them non-competitive. The nations of Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Hungary are “mounting a behind-the-scenes revolt against the Paris Agreement, blocking key measures needed to deliver the pledge that they signed up to 18 months ago.”
WattsUpWithThat posted “East European States Mount Revolt Against Paris Agreement” and quotes from that are as follows:
“Energy efficiency is supposed to make up around half of Europe’s emissions reductions by 2030, but a Czech proposal could cut energy saving obligations from a headline 1.5% a year figure to just 0.35% in practice.
Below the radar, Poland has also launched a manoeuvre that may block the EU’s winter package in its entirety – particularly a planned limit on power plant emissions – if it is signed up to by a third of EU parliaments, or 10-13 states.
The EU’s various wings will eventually thrash out a compromise between the commission’s original proposal – which was calibrated to meet the Paris pledge – and the counter-proposals designed to weaken this.
The effect this could have on the EU’s overall emissions has raised concerns among those in Brussels who wish to see the EU maintain its leadership on climate.
“We cannot allow backward-looking east EU states to destroy the EU’s credibility on the Paris agreement,” said Claude Turmes, the European parliament’s lead negotiator on climate governance.
“A successful and ambitious energy transition is one of the few remaining positive stories for Europe. If we allow that to be drained by vested old interests from east Europe, our international credibility – and the last remaining trust of our citizens – will be smashed,” said Turmes.”
The link to the above is https://wattsupwiththat.com/2017/05/30/east-european-states-mount-revolt-against-paris-agreement/
And then there is this item.
The German automaker are also having a problem with the Paris Agreement.
The Europe.autonews.com posted “German automakers fear losing competitive edge after U.S. exits climate pact.”
From that posting we learn:
“Germany’s powerful auto industry said Europe would need to reassess its environmental standards to remain competitive after the United States said it would withdraw from the Paris climate pact.
The VDA said electricity and energy prices are already higher in Germany than in the United States, putting Germany at a disadvantage.
The VDA represents automakers including BMW, Volkswagen, and Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler.
.The VDA’s warning comes as German Chancellor Angela Merkel, one of the strongest advocates of the global pact to curb emissions of gases that speed climate change, said there was no turning back from the 2015 Paris climate agreement.”
There will probably be more Paris Agreement setbacks like these two.
cbdakota
Climate Change Sanity 