European climate policy

The EU committed itself unilaterally already before Copenhagen to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent compared with 1990 levels by the year 2020, regardless of the results in December 2009. After Copenhagen, the EU has also offered to increase its emissions reduction commitments by 2020 to 30 percent provided other developed countries also do so. Its share of renewable energy should likewise increase to 20 percent and energy efficiency by 20 percent regardless of Copenhagen. The EU seeks to further strengthen its leadership role in international negotiations and its influence after Copenhagen.

From the EU's perspective, the climate protection regime should build on the Kyoto Protocol after 2012, expand it and include the most ambitious reduction targets possible as well as financing of measures in developing and emerging economies. The EU further requires the emerging countries to reduce their emissions with respect to the reference development by minus 15-30 percent. However, even the EU is at the bottom of the reduction target of 25-40 percent that is, according to the IPCC, scientifically necessary in order to limit the warming to a maximum of 2 degrees. In Copenhagen, the EU's position could not be asserted. The EU is now conducting discussions about how the international framework for climate-friendly development and the EU's pioneering role may be strengthened in future.

Independent of international developments, the EU climate and energy package came into force in the European Union on 24 June 2009.  It includes the following key points:

• Expansion of the EU-wide Emission Trading System (EU ETS). Instead of the previous 27 national allocation plans, there is a superordinated upper limit for everybody, which is decreased linearly by 1.74 percent annually in accordance with the reduction path. As of 2013, electricity providers, with the exception of certain Eastern European countries, must buy 100 percent of their emission certificates at auction. Concessions were made in the manufacturing sector: Here it will be a staggered auction and where there is a risk of "carbon leakage", i.e. transfer of emission rich production to other countries, it will be converted to a 100 percent "free allocation". According to the Commission, this will most likely affect 90 percent of businesses (fixed until 31.12.2009, then every 5 years). The new countries will generally receive a little more credit.
• Airlines are also placed under the EU Emissions Trading System for the first time. A rather more modest cap of respectively -3 percent (2013) to -5 percent (from 2014-2020) compared to 2004-2006 was set, and a high rate of 85 percent of the emission rights awarded to free allocations, i.e. so that even after the inclusion of air traffic in the EU ETS, it will cost the aviation sector only a small proportion of CO2 emissions. Nevertheless, the EU's approach to attribute the Emission Trading System to all flights ending or starting in the EU remains controversial within the aviation industry. The EU has justified the new regulations with the up until now unfulfilled task by the international aviation institutions. Also, in the EU Directive it is stated that a global emission trading system would be more goal-oriented. The EU solution nevertheless increases the pressure for matters to move somewhat in that direction.
• In other sectors that are not participating in emissions trading and account for about half the greenhouse gas emissions in the EU, such as transport, agriculture and building, an overarching emission reduction target of 10 per cent by 2020 was introduced with a decision. Each country has its own reduction target here.
• The package provides through means of a further directive a perspective for the construction of 12 pilot plants for carbon capture and storage (CCS), financed by the auction of emissions allowances.
• In transport, the EU prescribes a reduction of 10 percent of GHGs, which may be incurred during production, transport and fuel consumption, while 2 percent will be met through buying into the CDM.
• A regulation (directly applicable without the need to be implemented by national law) establishes emission limits for new cars: By 2013 the EU-wide objective applying long-term is 95g/km by 2020 and 130g/km by 2015 (respectively 85g/km and 120 g/km, the remaining 10 percent should be achieved through other measures). Overruns will be fined by increasing sanctions per gram of overrun. The targets will be calculated variously according to kerb weight, and EU-wide pooling makes it possible to achieve this limit together by combining high emission and low emission fleets.

Further Information
Study on the inclusion of aviation into the EU ETS