In a post-brexit world, you might wonder why we would be interested in the EU Winter Package. In her guest blog, Alice Collier, RSPB Policy Officer (Climate Change), gives us an overview of what it is and why it is hugely important for wildlife.
Nature does not respect national boundaries. And neither do the threats faced by nature. Climate change is one of the greatest threats to the nature we love and it is a global issue which requires action by all countries.
Political groupings and alliances don’t matter to nature. How successful we all are at tackling climate change is critically important for the wildlife on our doorstep here in the UK as they increasingly struggle to adapt to the harsh realities of a warming climate. We are seeing warming sea temperatures driving UK kittiwake declines, and more frequent and intense unseasonal weather extremes impacting on shag and capercaillie populations.
Capercaillie. Image credit: Dave Braddock (rspb-images.com)
It also matters how European countries go about tackling climate change, because birds which migrate to and from the UK could be impacted by badly located renewable energy developments they encounter on route, or by potential damage to valuable habitats along their migration path.
This is why we are disappointed with new EU policy proposals for creating a ‘Clean Energy EU’ (often referred to as the Winter Package) that were published at the end of November. Reducing emissions as quickly as possible is imperative to limit the effects of climate change but the EU is dragging its heels. The new proposals lack enough ambition to take the actions needed to reduce EU emissions quickly enough. The EU has also failed to include important environmental safeguards to make sure that renewable energy can be delivered in the right way, without harming our precious wildlife.
This is not good news for nature, but there is a silver lining. The proposals will now be debated over the coming year or so which gives scope for improvements to be made to Europe’s approach. Whilst the UK remains a part of the EU, our MEPs, the UK Government, the RSPB, and you, still have a voice in this debate. For the benefit of all wildlife, both at home and abroad, it is vital that we make sure Europe thinks more carefully about how to deliver a clean energy future, before it is too late.
Want to find out more about the Winter Package and our views on it? Take a look at the full Climate Blog coverage.