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Simon Evans

29.05.2014 | 9:00am
EU policy Will the surge in support for UKIP and other eurosceptics damage EU climate policy?
EU POLICY| May 29. 2014.9:00
Will the surge in support for UKIP and other eurosceptics damage EU climate policy?
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Eurosceptic parties like the UK Independence Party have made gains across Europe, election resultsshow, winning the largest share in the UK, France and several other member states.

These parties are generally opposed to environmental rules and regulations, preferring a focus on jobs, growth and immigration.

So it’s no surprise to see speculation that this will damage the EU’s climate agenda. More unexpected is theideathat the rise of the eurosceptics will be good for climate policy. We take a look at the main arguments.

Balance of power

Analysts Thomson Reuters Point Carbonsaidclimate and energy policy would be “significantly influenced” by the shift in the balance of power, and they don’t mean in a good way.

In a press release Marcus Ferdinand, head of EU carbon analysis for the firm said:

“With the increased share of eurosceptic Parliamentarians, the majority in favour of tighter energy and climate policy – as well as a more ambitious EU emissions trading scheme – is likely to become more unstable.”

The EU’s carbon markets could become more unstable too, its analysts argued, if votes in the European Parliament’s keyenvironment committeebecome less predictable and more frequently subject to challenge. But markets have not been affected so far,according to行业杂志效用。

ENDS Europereportsthat centre-right, eurosceptic and conservative MEPs are likely to gain enough seats to be able to block or weaken environmental legislation passing through the 71-member environment committee, if they so choose.

Griffin’s wings clipped

The committee previouslyhosted一个英国独立党议员,British National Party’s Nick Griffin who lost his seat at the election. The new make-up of seats on the committee has not yet been finalised, however, and it will not start working on carbon market reform until the autumn.

Bloombergreportsthat far-right and far-left MEPs are unlikely to try to secure seats on the committee, according to public affairs adviser Laurent Donceel. He argues that a more significant impact will be the loss of experienced MEPs and an influx of new MEPs with little knowledge of key climate policies.

For instance Liberal Democrat MEP Chris Davies was responsible for the development of the EU directive on carbon capture and storage. He lost his seat as Nick Clegg’s party faced EU oblivion, losingall but oneof its European Parliament representatives.

Reutersreportsthat climate policy remains an EU priority for German chancellor Angela Merkel. But her opinion does not necessarily reflect that of the European Parliament.

So how exactly could the election results boost ambitious climate policy? The argument goes that centre-left partiestypically为加强气候行动投票。这些聚会哈ve gained votes in the elections, while the centre-right parties have lost ground.

Although the centre-right remains the largest grouping, this shift hands a stronger balance of power to the likes of the Greens and liberals,accordingto energy investor Assaad Razzouk. He adds that eurosceptic MEPs have a poor attendance record, meaning their votes are counted less often. This is certainlytruefor some prominent UKIP MEPs.

Presidential prerogative

One final point to bear in mind is that the European Parliament hasgaineda power of veto over the next president of the European Commission, the EU’s policy-making arm. It can put forward candidates and must vote to approve the final choice.

The two leading candidates are the centre-right’s preferred choice Jean-Claude Juncker and the centre-left’s Martin Schulz.Bothhavesupportedstrong climate legislation and both have made budgetary control thecentrepieceof their campaigns.

So while parliament’s choice of candidate may not directly affect climate policy the rise of its eurosceptic minority mightconstrainthe new president’s ability to act and change the emphasis given to fiscal responsibility versus emissions controls.

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