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Contents
1. Hedegaard welcomes agreement to cut emissions from vans
2. ‘Progress made in Cancún, but challenges lay ahead’ – Hedegaard
3. Registrations down 7.1% in November across Europe
4. Industrial production up by 0.7% from September to october in euro area
5. Call for wide-ranging resource efficiency plan
1. Hedegaard welcomes agreement to cut emissions from vans
Connie Hedegaard, EU Commissioner for climate action, has welcomed an agreement to cut emissions from vans. In yesterday’s final trialogue meeting (European Parliament, Commission, Council) a preliminary compromise was found on the Light Commercial Vehicles CO2 proposal, setting up the 2020 long-term emissions reduction target at a level of 147 g/km. All other issues remain unchanged, in line with the Council position agreed during the last Coreper meeting. Ms. Hedegaard said: “I welcome the agreement reached with the Council and the European Parliament to set EU emission standards for vans. The agreed Regulation will make vans less polluting and will contribute to our overall ambition to cut emissions from transport. With the agreed 2020 target, it will stimulate innovation in industry, enabling manufacturers to take full advantage of the transition to a low-carbon economy. It will also generate important fuel-savings for consumers. The agreement in first reading will allow the proposal made by the Commission in 2009 to be rapidly adopted and provide certainty for industry.”
Source: European Voice
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2. ‘Progress made in Cancún, but challenges lay ahead’ – Hedegaard
A deal to curb climate change reached at the Cancún summit represented “real progress” according to Connie Hedegaard, European Commissioner for climate action. After talks went on through the night, negotiators from around 190 countries meeting in the Mexican resort endorsed a text in the early hours of the morning. The ‘Cancun agreement’ includes pledges to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and set up a fund to help poor countries adapt to climate change. Forest conservation plans and a deal on the politically-sensitive issue of how to report and monitor emission reductions were also agreed. Ms. Hedegaard said: “The EU came to Cancún in the hope that we would have a substantial package, a package showing progress and substance, as well as paving the way forward in this process, and that we got in the Cancún agreement. That is progress, but it is also fair to say that we have a long and challenging journey ahead of us.” All sides are aiming for a final climate deal at the next United Nations climate conference in South Africa at the end of 2011.
Source: European Voice
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3. Registrations down 7.1% in November across Europe
The European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) has published its latest automotive figures for November 2010. Figures show that new cars fell by 7.1% in the EU, amounting to 1,069,268 units. In total, 12,349,743 new cars were registered in November 2010, or 5.7% less than over the same period last year.
Source: ECEA
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4. Industrial production up by 0.7% from September to october in euro area
Eurostat, the statistical office of the EU, has released industrial production figures for October 2010. Comparing these figures from September 2010, the reveal that seasonally adjusted industrial production rose by 0.7% in the Euro area. Year-on-year figures reveal that production increased by 6.9% in the Euro area from October 2009 to October 2010.
Source: Eurostat
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5. Call for wide-ranging resource efficiency plan
Environment ministers will call on the European Commission to give a broad interpretation to resource efficiency when it launches the 2020 strategy’s flagship initiative on the issue next year, according to a draft resolution. Ministers will ask the EU executive to incorporate all natural resources into its strategy including energy and non-energy resources, biotic materials, water, air, soil, living organisms, ecosystems and biodiversity. The draft resolution is based on a Belgian presidency paper presented in July. The document calls for an ambitious EU policy on ecodesign and a thorough review of existing legislation in 2012. The 2009 ecodesign directive foresees a possible extension of the law to non-energy products with an environmental impact. Ministers want the commission to “explore further ways of reducing the use of hazardous substances, including heavy metals”. The document adds that the extended producer responsibility principle should be further strengthened, “based on an analysis of socio-economic and environmental costs and benefits”. The forthcoming resource efficiency should refer to Sustainable Materials Management (SMM) as defined by the OECD, according to the document. It also calls for a common method on the quantitative lifecycle assessment of products’ environmental impacts. EU member states are also encouraged to support the goals of the ten-year framework of programmes on sustainable consumption and production (SCP) under the framework of the Marrakech Process, which will be discussed at international negotiations next May.
Source: EndsEurope
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