The European Parliament has narrowly voted on its position regarding climate change in the lead up to the United Nations Climate Conference in December in Katowice, Poland. Two parts of the vote stood out – a call for the European Commission to raise its target from 45% to a 55% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030 from 1990 levels, and rejection of the idea that carbon capture and storage should not be part of climate change mitigation. The latter had alarmed proponents of CCS, who called the idea absurd, with Bellona President and Founder Frederic Hauge writing “It is hard to believe that the European Parliament is even considering adopting this nonsense.” Mr Hauge welcomed the outcome of the vote, hoping it would push the Directorate-General for Climate Action department of the European Commission, who he described as having adopted a “lazy assumption” in respect to CCS, to a more constructive, proactive approach. He also pointed out that the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report (covered in the previous edition of the Combustion Industry News) demonstrated that CCS would be required in the effort to mitigate climate change.