The climate policies of the seven groups of the European Parliament analysed in the context of the 2024 EU elections from 6th to 9th June.
Back in 2015, the European Commission adopted its first Circular Economy Action Plan (CEAP).
To deliver on its emissions reduction goals, in 2005 the EU established the European Union Emission Trading System (EU ETS) with Directive 2003/87/EC.
The European Parliament voted in favour of a Regulation that would restrict imports to “deforestation-free” products for EU bloc countries on a set of commodities that have been identified as key drivers of deforestation.A reduction of 31.9 million metric tons of carbon emissions is achievable with adoption of the law, which sets international precedent in regulating a high-emission supply and demand chain.The outlined definition of deforestation is weak, and the land-type to which the regulations will apply is limited to natural forests. Other ecosystems have not been considered.
We’ve put together a comprehensive glossary booklet to help you understand the jargon around EU climate policy. The first section covers general terms, the second one (from p. 21 onwards) proposal related terminology.
The proposal for a Methane Regulation seeks to address and mitigate emissions of the greenhouse gas known as methane across the EU’s energy sector, tying into the EU’s broader climate objectives. It would be the first EU legislative proposal of its kind, imposing a range of obligations on the oil, gas, and coal sectors in the EU. It sets obligations on energy companies to monitor, report and reduce methane emissions but does not set reduction targets.
The legislative proposal seeks to find a middle ground between guaranteeing competition and encouraging private investment through a hybrid regulatory approach (market and non-market mechanisms). Regulatory principles utilised in gas and electricity markets can not be transposed onto hydrogen markets, and cross-subsidisation is not a viable long-term option. Market volatility means higher or possibly inaccessible costs to consumers. The proposal seeks to address this by adopting an integrated EU-wide approach to storage.
By Clarice Agostini In May and June 2022, the plenary of the European Parliament will vote on the key elements of the Fit for 55 package of energy and climate legislation. Before that, the individual lead committees will vote on the proposals. Here are the proposals that are most relevant to the objectives of the...
A useful table to understand the acronyms for EU committees.
