Six months after COP21, it's time to turn speeches into action. 12 December 2015 will go down in history as a crucial moment. On that day, 195 countries, all COP21 participants, adopted a binding text to jointly lead the fight of the century, against climate change.
As Parliament's rapporteur on COP21 and a member of the delegation of MEPs that attended the conference, I consider the Paris protocol to be a great success, one that exceeded our expectations.
For the very first time, nearly all of the world's countries set themselves an objective to limit the increase in global warming to under two degrees, and strengthen efforts to limit this increase to 1.5 degrees by 2100.
On 22 April 2016, the Paris agreement was signed by 175 countries in New York. The momentum has not been lost. The commitment to fighting against climate change remains strong.
This process must carry on, and Europe must commit to ratify the protocol as quickly as possible. The EU represents 12.1 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Legally, it cannot ratify the accord before its 28 member states.
To encourage member states to speed up their ratification process, on 15 June the Commission will present its proposal for ratification to Council and Parliament.
Since 8 June, France is the first EU member state to have ratified the Paris agreement. Other European countries must quickly follow this example.
Unfortunately, countries that are dependent on fossil fuels - Poland, Slovakia and Czech Republic - have said they will only ratify the deal if national efforts to reduce EU greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40 per cent by 2030 are spread out. This attitude is unacceptable.
The environment ministers Council meeting on 20 June could be an opportunity to address whether or not these questions can be separated and if all member states are now ready to commence the ratification process.
Once ratification has begun, the EU will need to implement the Paris protocol. Six months after COP21, it's time to turn speeches into action. 2015 was the year of negotiations and decisions, 2016 must be the year of action.
Parliament will have a key role to play in helping achieve our COP21 goals. Over the next few months, we will establish our position on a number of legislative proposals to encourage the transition to a low-carbon economy.
As I have said time and again while preparing for COP21, while climate change is the fight of the century it is also the opportunity of the century. The energy sector is clearly a key sector to bring about the economic paradigm shift we have been calling for.
By putting in place a circular economy, we will create up to two million jobs by 2030. Legislative proposals currently being assessed by Parliament will allow us to make the best possible use of raw materials, as well as products and waste, and promote energy efficiency and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
By increasing our energy efficiency, we will lower costs in the long-term, by using renewable energy. For example, energy savings in the electricity sector will allow Europe to save €100bn annually by 2020, which is equivalent to €465 per household. This will help address the issue of energy poverty, which currently affects 11 per cent of the EU population.
By doing away with fossil fuel subsidies by 2020, renewable energy will be able to better develop. Each year around the world, governments spend €4740bn to support fossil fuels - that's €10m a minute, according to the IMF. This is an economic aberration.
Getting rid of these subsidies will increase tax revenues, lower healthcare costs, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase the competitiveness of renewable energy technologies.
By developing renewable energy technologies in Europe, we will speed up our energy transition. By 2020, we will have surpassed our goal of 20 per cent renewable energy in the energy mix. In 2014, renewable energy already accounted for 15.3 per cent of the EU's energy consumption.
By setting a price limit on tonnes of carbon, we will, eventually, reduce market volatility and improve its predictability, in order to encourage carbon investments. This point must be raised during the ongoing parliamentary debates on reforming the EU ETS.
In the coming months, the EU will, more than ever, have to demonstrate its global leadership on fighting climate change, by taking up all of these challenges. We must show willingness in implementing COP21.