To help mitigate climate change, the Members of European Parliament (MEPs) adopted in 2014 the climate and energy framework, which included binding targets to cut back emissions by 40% over the next 15 years or so.
In sectors such as agribusiness, waste management, transportation and architecture, the reduction is anticipated to reach 30% by 2030 compared with 2005 levels.
The above-mentioned targets are also perfectly aligned with the EU's commitment in the Paris Climate Agreement ratified under the former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
The above-mentioned sectors comprise for the majority of the EU's greenhouse gas emissions—about 60% of total EU output in 2014 (Photo: Facebook)
To guarantee that all Member States participate in the EU's efforts to bring emissions down down across the aforementioned sectors, the Effort Sharing Decision establishes binding annual greenhouse gas emission targets for EU countries for the period 2013-2020.
MEPs are now working on a new regulatory framework that would be the follow-up to the Effort Sharing Decision. The proposal lays down EU Member States' minimum contribution to emission reductions for the period 2021-2030.
As the scale for reducing vehicles by Member States, this is taken into account by basing the targets on the countries' per capita GDP.
The resulting 2030 targets range from 0 to -40% compared with 2005 elvels and are also in line with the EU's general 30% target across the board.
However, there is still room for some flexibility. The EU Member States, for instance, would be able to bank, borrow and transfer annual emission allocations under the new regulatory framework among themselves from one year to another.
MEPs will be voting on the final proposal of climate regulations during this coming April plenary session in Strasbourg, France.
By MSEAP Cyber Secretariat (mseap@assembly.go.kr) |
