Discussion on Lithuania's position regarding the EU 2030 climate change targets
On February 20th, representatives of NGOs, state institutions, business associations, and other stakeholders met to discuss the Lithuanian position regarding the new European Union 2030 policy on climate change mitigation and energy. The conference was held in the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Lithuania.
Purpose of this event was to share views on the Lithuanian position during the European Council. Interested organizations as well as public audience had a chance to debate on targets that should be included in the EU 2030 policy on climate change mitigation and energy.
In 2007, EU approved its targets for climate change mitigation and energy policy for 2009 - 2020: to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 20% (compared to 1990), to produce no less than 20% of total final energy consumption from renewable sources, and to increase energy efficiency savings to 20% of primary energy (compared to 2005). In 2014, European Union is launching the new commitments for 2020-2030 in order to ensure continuity of the climate change and energy policy. Recently, the European Commission presented an impact assessment analysis together with a position paper regarding the potential climate change mitigation and energy policy targets. On March 21st 2014, during a summit of the European Council, Lithuania will discuss this issue with other Member States of the EU.
The main issues discussed during the conference:
1. What GHG emissions reduction targets should Lithuania support? Is the European Commission's proposed target to reduce GHG emission by 40%, a sufficient goal?
2. What should be the structure of climate policy targets? The impact of the three binding targets on Lithuania: GHG emissions reductions, renewable energy, and energy consumption efficiency.
Presentations given during the event:
Impact assessment of the EU climate change and energy policy 2030 targets for Lithuania. Stasilė Znutienė
Lithuanian NGO position. Gintarė Jonušauskaitė and Inga Ringalaitė
Necessity and impact of the renewable energy target in Lithuania. Martynas Nagevičius
Necessity and impact of the energy consumption efficiency target. I. Valuntienė
CO2 emissions budget in context of the climate change targets. Justinas Kilpys
The event was organized by “Darnaus vystymo iniciatyvos” (“ Sustainable Development Initiatives”) and Baltic Environmental Forum, together with Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Lithuania. Project „Strengthening the role of environmental NGOs in shaping climate change policy” is funded by the European Economic Area’s Financial Mechanism 2009-2014, “Funds for Non-Governmental Organizations” Programme.
