Policy initiatives > EU and climate change

EU and climate change

Under the Kyoto protocol to the climate convention the EU15 has committed itself to reduce emissions of the six gases included in it by 8 per cent for the period 1990 to 2008-12. This will amount to a reduction of the annual emissions by 336 million tonnes of CO2 equivalents.

The EU's ratification of the protocol was agreed by the Council of Ministers in April 2002. The relevant directive (2002/358/EC) also provided the legal framework for burden sharing among the member states (see figure below).

How the EU commitment under the Kyoto protocol has been allocated among the 15 "old" member countries, showing the reductions or increases in per cent that will be required of each country between the base year and 2008-12. The columns show how the annual emissions of greenhouse gases from each country must be changed during the same period (expressed as million tons of CO2 eq). The overall figure of 8 per cent will mean a reduction of 336 million tonnes.

Combating climate change is one of the items in the Strategy for Sustainable Development that was adopted by the European Council in June 2001.

The Sixth Community Environment Action Programme, adopted in 2002 (1600/2002/EC), lays the foundation for EU activity in this field over the next ten years, with climate change being one of four priority areas for urgent action.

Targets for the future

At their meeting on 22–23 March 2005 the EU Heads of State (European Council) endorsed – for the first time – the goal of keeping global temperature rise below 2 degrees C over pre-industrial levels.

In March 2007 the EU heads of state (European Council) decided that greenhouse gas emissions in the EU must be reduced by 20 per cent by the year 2020 compared with 1990 levels, or by 30 per cent if other industrial nations make similar undertakings, and that the renewable energy share should increase to at least a 20 per cent by 2020. There is a further target that renewable fuels should supply 10 per cent of energy needs in the transport sector by 2020.

On 23 January 2008 the Commission presented its climate package, which is intended to clarify how the targets adopted by the European Council should be achieved and how responsibility should be shared between the member states.

Reducing emissions by 20 per cent compared with 1990 means a reduction of 14 per cent compared with the 2005 level. The Commission wants this reduction to be achieved through the emissions trading system and measures in other sectors.

The goal is that the complete climate package should be adopted by spring 2009 at the latest, before the June 2009 elections to the European Parliament and before the climate summit in Copenhagen in December 2009.

Last modified: 18 March 2008.