Climate and Energy Package: Would too many offsets hollow out the EU Package?

The Climate and Energy Package is the cornerstone of European climate policy for the post-2012 period. The provisions of the Package should enable the implementation of the 20-20-20 targets by 2020, in other words a 20% reduction in emissions, 20% renewable energy in final consumption and a 20% improvement in energy efficiency, with a view to creating the conditions for meeting the ambitious longerterm target proposed by the EU. But the quantified targets Europe adopted in its Package are not enough in themselves to conclude that European decisions will enable it to achieve its ambitions for 2050.
Indeed, this article takes the necessary closer look at the scope of the different provisions already in place along with those that will be determined by 2012 and, in particular, the implications of European choices in terms of offsets, in other words the share of the European emissions reduction target that will be met through emissions reductions made in developing countries.

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