20% by 2020 - MEPs debate the best way forward for Europe to satisfy energy demands and achieve its vision for cutting C02 emissions.

Forum: Can Europe strike right energy mix to curb emissions?

Hello and welcome. We're here  in the European Parliament in Strasbourg

for a joint debate  on the Polish news site Biznes.pl

and EuroparlTV, the television channel  of the European Parliament.

Our topic today:  energy and climate change by 2020.

The EU wants to reach a 20% reduction  in greenhouse gas emissions,

20% of energy to be produced  by renewables,

and a 20% improvement  in EU energy efficiency.

So how will the EU reach its targets,  known as the 20-20-20 targets?

To discuss this with us today,  let me present our guests to you.

First, Catherine Trautmann,  hello and welcome. You are a French MEP

with the Progressive Alliance of Socialists  and Democrats in the European Parliament,

also a former mayor of Strasbourg,  so you're in your home town here.

You've said, 'There is  no real European energy policy,

just national policies,  unable to work together.'

Do you still confirm this quote  that I read in a newspaper?

I think that we have very ambitious targets,

but we need to have a real common will  to obtain the results for these targets.

And the national mixes  are sometimes in contradiction.

That's why I think we're not totally prepared  to have a common policy.

Thank you, Ms Trautmann. We'll be able  to talk about that during the debate.

I'll hand over to my colleague Martyna  to present the other guests.

Yes, Patrick. To my right,  our other guest is Mr Reinhard Bütikofer

You once said in an article that you were  questioning the 20-20-20 EU targets.

Well, I'm questioning the targets  from two angles really.

On one hand, I'm not convinced  that they are ambitious enough.

On the other hand,  there is reason to question

whether we will attain even these goals  if we don't improve our act.

We'll get back to that in a few minutes.

Our third guest is Mr Jerzy Buzek,  an MEP from Poland

who represents  the European People's Party.

You once said that  we cannot avoid rising energy prices

unless we have a well-developed  and full energy market.

Well, yes. The internal energy market could  be supported from many points of view.

Let us remember that  we have our three most important goals,

which were defined in 2007,  and we've never changed them.

and environmental protection  together with climate protection.

So let us remember all the time  about our three most important goals.

Mr Buzek, thank you for that.  We'll come back to it too.

Poland, for example, seems to be pushing  for extracting coal in the future

to satisfy energy demands.  I'd also like to ask Martyna.

Is this really the way forward?  People in Europe have the impression

Poland is setting everything  on coal, shale gas, things like that.

It's the view we sometimes have.  Is it true, Martyna?

Indeed, many politicians in Poland  tend to think that way.

However, it's not exactly  what all people in Poland think.

Before we start our debate  I'd like to present a short video

which we shot in Warsaw  just a few days ago.

about their opinion  on the EU's 20-20-20 targets.

We care about the environment  and we want to limit CO2 emission.

Countries that produce most CO2,  the USA and China,

I am against the EU and the criteria  they impose on Poland.

We can all see what's happening.  It's spring when it should be winter.

Global warming is a fact  and CO2 is the culprit.

It's just another hoax  to help the industry increase sales.

It is important  to protect the environment

Developed countries have the technology  to reduce emissions but we don't.

So, promotion of renewable energies  and energy efficiency

are the main ideas to reach a reduction  of 40% of greenhouse gases in 2030.

But is it actually realistic?  Mr Buzek, could you comment on that?

Yes, I'm quite sure it's realistic,  but everything depends on the timetable.

It's very important that we should not mix  our goals and our tools.

Our goal is, as a matter of fact,  minimising emissions,

I would prefer the wording 'low-emission  economy', not 'low-carbon economy'.

But, Mr Buzek,  it's also an economic question.

Frankly, you come from a region  where coal is produced,

If you came maybe from a city or a region  where there is absolutely no coal,

you maybe wouldn't talk the same way,  would you?

I feel very responsible for the climate issue.

Human beings are causing  the climate issue, climate change.

So we should prevent that.  But everything depends on the costs.

If we compute the average European costs,

it's not the same as computing them  from country to country.

For example, in France we've got  energy produced from nuclear,

so this transition  to a low-emission economy

is much easier than in the case of Poland.  And it's much cheaper -

if you want to change from 90%  of electricity production coming from coal

to, let's say, 20 or 30% of such production.

Let's give the floor now to Ms Trautmann.  I saw you look a bit questioning

when you were listening to Mr Buzek.  Do you agree on that or not?

I have three remarks  on what Mr Buzek said.

The first one is that we must look at  the financial costs and the health costs,

because I'm from a region where, over  many years, we were strongly polluted

by the gas emissions from coal,  and especially from the Ruhr region.

We could see acid rain  and different effects on human health.

I think there must not be a contradiction

between the economic goals  and the social goals.