A Peek into How the EU Crafted its 2030 Climate and Energy Policy Used in Paris

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Insight into how the EU crafted its climate and energy policy for 2030 was shared by Politico this week in snapshots of a presentation given at the Amsterdam Forum on European Culture.

Entitled โ€œHow to arrive at a successful agreement on a complicated matter at the European Council?โ€ the presentation was given by Lukasz Kolinski, a cabinet member of European Council President Donaldย Tusk.

In it, Kolinski broke down the 2030 climate policy discussions into eight steps to serve as an example for how negotiations should be โ€œplanned like anย expeditionโ€.

The โ€œTusk climate playbookโ€ (as described by Politico) contained โ€œTravel adviceโ€ such as โ€œDonโ€™t bluff or lie, build trustโ€, โ€œbe ready to adapt the courseโ€, and to โ€œkeep the negotiations confidential (no paperย copies)โ€.

Kolinski also discussed how the varying views on the higher ambition strategy differed between countries. For example, the UK and Poland wanted just one target for greenhouse gas emissions while Scandinavian countries were asking forย three.

The main takeaway on big screen? โ€œBuild an ironman. Get aย deal.โ€


Photo credit: Politico

Step 1: The startingย point

All 28 EU member states came to the negotiations with conflicting positions, based on their different energy mixes and policies. Even the European Commission had 15 pages on what they thought shouldย happen.

Step 2: Theย goal

The policy needed to have all 28 EU heads of state sign on to it.ย  It had to be ambitious, agreeing on a 40 percent reduction rather than a 32 percent business-as-usual scenario. And it would form part of the EUโ€™s Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) ahead of the COP21 Paris climateย conference.

Step 3: Set theย date

To create a sense of urgency while giving โ€œslow moversโ€ time, a deadline was set in March for October 2014. The time allowed for improvements in the security of supply and for the creation of ways to foster power sectorย modernisation.

Step 4: Draw theย map

Sticking with the โ€œexpeditionโ€ theme, close advisors of leaders were dubbed โ€˜Sherpasโ€™ who were consulted on to map the โ€˜red linesโ€™ that countries wouldnโ€™t cross, the โ€˜nice-to-havesโ€™ that countries wanted, and the โ€˜must-havesโ€™ they needed toย deliver.

Step 5: Plot the route, โ€œsteer clear of theย reefsโ€

Timing was important. Early in the negotiations, โ€œassistanceโ€ and โ€œcompensationโ€ was offer to those who might oppose the ambitious 40 percent target. It was only later on that the precise size of that compensation wasย agreed.

Step 6: โ€œBuild a strawman and startย negotiationsโ€

Controversial or negotiable issues (like choosing a binding or a non-binding target) were kept in brackets in the draft agreement to focus on theย discussion.

Step 7: โ€œBuild aย tinmanโ€

The brackets in the draft were then tested with another round of leaders consulting the Sherpas to settle theย disagreements.

Step 8: โ€œBuild an ironman. Get aย dealโ€

In the final stage, the โ€œdifficult guysโ€ were kept โ€œfighting for their prize until the endโ€ when a deal wasย struck.

In the end, all the countries agreed on the final energy strategy which formed the EUโ€™s INDC โ€œto a binding target of at least 40% domestic reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 compared toย 1990.โ€

The policyโ€™s targets also included โ€œat least a 27% share of renewable energy consumptionโ€, and โ€œat least 27% energy savings compared with the business-as-usual scenarioโ€.ย ย 


Photo Credit: Politico

Photo: European Council viaย Flickr

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Originally from Manchester, Will moved to London to study a Masters in Environmental science, law & policy. For the last three years he has worked for an international development think tank, the Overseas Development Institute, in various communications positions. Will began contributing to DeSmog UK in Aprilย 2016.

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