Targets
Under the Kyoto Protocol, the EU (consisting of the 15 Member States before May 2004) has undertaken to collectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 8% below 1990 levels by the 2008 – 2012 commitment period. This target will be achieved through a burden sharing agreement whereby the bigger emitters and richer economies carry the heaviest burden and are required to achieve the greatest cuts.
Most of the 10 new Member States have the same target (i.e. an 8% cut below 1990 levels), while the target for Hungary and Poland is a 6% cut and Cyprus and Malta have no target (Burden Sharing Agreement 2002/358/EC).
The EU has provided global leadership in addressing issues of climate change. Global action is needed to avoid global average temperatures reaching 2 degrees Celcius above pre-industrial temperatures and to prevent irreversible and potentially catastrophic changes in the global climate.
Beyond Kyoto
Following Kyoto, the EU set up theEuropean Climate Change Programme (ECCP) in June 2000 to advise on government policy and strategy measures for reducing greenhouse gases, in a consistent manner, across the Community. For further information visit the European Climate Change Programme website.
A recent EU Report (Greenhouse gas emission trends and projections in Europe 2007) summarises that, based on past trends between 1990 and 2005, the EU-15 is not on track to meet its Kyoto target. However, projections for 2010 indicate that the target will be met if Member states implement existing and additional measures fully and quickly, and make use of carbon sinks and Kyoto mechanisms.
New Goals
Following the agreement in Bali in December 2007, the EU released a report for consultation on the provisional targets for member states for the post Kyoto agreement. The new plan has committed the EU to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20% compared to 1990 levels by 2020. However, the EU has stated a commitment to achive a 30% reduction in the same timeframe if other developed countries show similar commitment.
A significant portion of these reductions will be targeted through renewable energies, as there is also a mandatory target of 20% renewable energy by 2020, with a 10% biofuels target. Legally binding targets for each member state can be found on the E.U. website.