Barroso
administration: Golden medal in serving interests
A
research by the Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO)
“Through
the course of the crisis, attempts by corporations and corporate
lobby groups to influence EU policies have probably been more
successful than ever, in part due to a close relationship with the
Commission.”
“Corporate
Europe Observatory has gathered a lot of evidence over time and
covering many different areas that shows how the Commission is easily
captured by corporate interests. This report is an attempt to produce
a condensed version of how the Commission has come to act on behalf
of corporations over the past five years, focusing on climate
policies, agriculture and food, finance, economic, and fiscal
policies.”
4
- The climate climbdown
Key
findings
“...
the European Union’s Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) was touted
as the cheapest way for Europe to reduce its emissions [...] However,
intense industry lobbying meant too many permits were given out so
companies keep polluting rather than investing in low-carbon
technology. Under the EU ETS emissions have actually increased, along
with the use of fossil fuels, but meanwhile Europe’s dirtiest
industries have made billions of euros profits from the many flaws in
the ETS system, as well as outright fraud.”
“In
spite of its failure, the Barroso II Commission – and Commissioner
Hedegaard of DG CLIMA – has refused to consider life beyond the
ETS. Industry lobby groups such as the ‘Friends of ETS’ –
established by Shell and other big energy companies – have kept the
Commission wasting its political capital on the ETS rather than
genuine solutions. Business Europe teamed up with carbon traders’
lobby IETA – with members like BP, Shell and JP Morgan – to scare
the Commission into believing that if it introduced structural
reforms to the ETS, they would affect the level of trading and
undermine the whole scheme (regardless of whether trading had any
relation to emissions cuts). As a result, carbon trading remains
largely an activity based on speculation rather than real emissions
cuts.”
“Aggressive
lobbying from the biggest climate laggards such as steel manufacturer
ArcelorMittal and its numerous trade associations have blocked any
attempt to make the ETS more effective. They have effectively
wielded the threat of relocating outside of Europe if the Commission
makes it pay for emissions cuts, despite the fact that in 2012
ArcelorMittal still held more than €1.6 billion worth of free
carbon permits. The message was echoed by trade associations for
steel (Eurofer – which ArcelorMittal chairs), metals (Eurometaux)
and chemicals (CEFIS), as well as cross-sector associations like
BusinessEurope. Heavy industry even went as far as demanding –
and receiving – compensation through subsidised electricity
prices.”
“Despite
the failure of the ETS, the European Commission is focused on the
same strategy of financialisation – assigning a market value to
ecosystems and their ‘services’ – as a solution to biodiversity
loss and other environmental problems. At the Rio+20 Sustainable
Development Conference in 2012, the Commission was one of the key
cheerleaders of this approach, embracing the message from the world’s
biggest corporations like Rio Tinto and Shell that creating markets
would protect the environment and stimulate growth – despite
current evidence that environmental markets, by putting a price on
forests, rivers, and ecosystems, lead to the privatisation of the
commons, high levels of speculation, and very little additional
environmental action.”
“Support
for renewable energy and energy efficiency has been cut. One of
the more absurd and sinister reasons given was that if they were
successful in cutting emissions, they would reduce the demand – and
therefore the price – for carbon credits, further weakening the
ETS.”
“ERT
[European Round Table of Industrialists] has similarly high-level
access, inviting German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President
François Hollande and Commission President José Manuel Barroso to
dinner with its delegation to discuss climate policies in March
2014.”
Related:
Totally dominant lobbies in a downgraded Europe – (part 5)
Totally dominant lobbies in a downgraded Europe – (part 6)
Totally dominant lobbies in a downgraded Europe – (part 7)
Totally dominant lobbies in a downgraded Europe – (part 8)
Totally dominant lobbies in a downgraded Europe – (part 9)
Juncker-Verhofstadt: Lobbies and groups of interests in the EU are unavoidable!
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