Launch of the forest fibre industry's roadmap to a low carbon bio-economy

Transcription

1 Connie Hedegaard European Commissioner for Climate Action Launch of the forest fibre industry's roadmap to a low carbon bio-economy Video message Brussels, 16 November 2011

2 Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, Thank you very much for the invitation to speak at your associations' annual meeting. I really regret that I could not join you in person, but the Americans decided to call a major Economic Forum meeting, the last ministerial before we go to South Africa later this month and that is why I simply had to go to Washington DC. I regret this very much but I'm glad to tell you that my Head of Cabinet Mr Peter Vis will be among you and I'm sure that he will also take questions afterwards. It is a pleasure for me to speak as you launch the forest fibre industry's Roadmap to a low-carbon bio-economy. You are the first energy-intensive industry to follow up on the Commission s call to produce sector-specific, bottomup roadmaps to complement the vision we presented in March, in our Roadmap to a competitive low-carbon economy in 2050.

3 I appreciate this must not have been easy for a sector organisation as big as yours to bridge different interests and to bring them together in a long-term roadmap. I also appreciate that you take a constructive approach and align with the target which we put forward in the Commission's low-carbon roadmap, notably that the EU must reduce its overall greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80% by the middle of the century. Most importantly, your roadmap presents a vision of a thriving European bio-economic sector that reaps the opportunities that the low carbon economy will bring, while at the same time addressing its challenges. In short, it presents a vision that your industry will be part of the solution. I believe that in these times of economic hardship and negative sentiment about the future of Europe, this is a strong and encouraging message. Across the world, we are being confronted with rising temperatures and increasingly frequent episodes of extreme weather. I know that the pulp and paper industry is acutely

4 aware of these issues. Being dependent on the productivity of the forests, global warming affects your daily business in a very direct way. We must also find answers to a staggering population growth, the depletion of natural resources, environmental degradation, rising energy prices and problems of energy supply. The Commission's roadmap to a low-carbon economy takes all these challenges into account. Besides, the Commission has also presented a transport White Paper, a Roadmap on resource efficiency and shortly we will also publish a 2050 Energy Roadmap. With these strategy documents the Commission sets out pathways of how we can reconcile economic growth with the need to cut emissions, the shrinking supply of raw materials and energy, and the growing population. First and foremost, the 2050 low-carbon roadmap shows that it is possible for the European economy to meet these challenges. It is not a green dream, it is not science fiction.

5 It won't kill economic development in Europe. On the contrary, it will contribute to the sustainable growth and jobs creation that Europe so badly needs. But it requires all economic sectors to contribute. Of course, as you also demonstrate in your roadmap, the transition will require important technological innovation. The EU supports the development of innovative lowcarbon technologies through its R&D budget. Some weeks ago, the Commission proposed to increase it drastically by some 40% between 2014 and And low-carbon technologies have been identified as one of the main priorities of the future research policy Horizon Overall, the Commission has proposed that at least 20% of the future EU budget will be climate-related. The Commission recognises it is crucial to give our economic sectors a long-term perspective of what we are heading for. As you write yourself in your roadmap: "2050 is only two paper machines away".

6 We don t want to leave the private sector alone with this huge task. Through our policies, we try to set the right framework and directions to enable this transition to a lowcarbon society. The EU Emissions Trading System both reduces emissions and raises funding for low-carbon investments. The Member States have committed to use at least half of the revenues of ETS auctioning for climate purposes. We certainly welcome new ideas like the one you propose in your roadmap to invest ETS revenues into a forest fibre sector transformation platform as to how these revenues could be spent over the next coming years. You also rightly highlight the raw material perspective in your roadmap. We need a sufficient and sustainable supply of biomass and raw materials for the forest fibre industry, especially as the demand for biomass from the energy sector is also rising. Every day football fields of forests are being burned or cut, while biomass is a finite resource.

7 Your approach to look at the entire cascade of materials use is in my opinion a very interesting one. I believe it is an innovative concept that takes the resource efficiency of the land and its products as a starting point. It goes beyond the current policy developments to ensure the sustainability of biomass and biofuels for energy purposes by looking at these issues in a broader perspective. Finally, it is also important to keep track of the impact of increased biomass use on the amount of carbon stored in our forests and lands. There is room for optimising the exploitation of our forests, for instance through the Common Agricultural Policy. Therefore, we are working on new legislation for the accounting of emissions and removals of Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry, the so-called LULUCF, which we will present in the coming months. I hope that under the Danish Presidency we can make progress on these issues. We need a strong political signal from the Member States and from the European Parliament

8 on how and at what pace Europe will decarbonise its economy. We must provide industry with predictability and a long-term perspective. In this context, the constructive input by the forest fibre industry is much appreciated. Thank you very much for having produced your own 2050 Roadmap. Thank you very much for being the first to do so, paving the way for others, and please stay engaged with the on-going policy debate. We need your voice in the discussion. Thank you again and I hope you will have a good debate afterwards.