On June 5th 2009, the Official Journal of the European Union has published the set of legal texts  implementing the measures adopted by the European Parliament on April 2009. These measures aim at putting the European Union on the forefront of action on climate and energy issues, contributing to reduce EU emissions by 20% in 2020.

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which was approved on behalf of the European Community by Council Decision 94/69/EC of 15 December 1993, requires all parties to formulate and implement national and, where appropriate, regional programmes containing measures to mitigate climate change.

In this respect, the Commission proposed in January 2007 that, in the context of international negotiations, the European Union should pursue the objective of a 30 % reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by developed countries by 2020 (compared to 1990 levels) and that the Union itself should make a firm independent commitment to achieve at least a 20 % reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 (compared to 1990 levels), irrespective of reductions achieved by other developed countries. This objective was endorsed by the European Parliament and the Council.

Following this compromise, the European Parliament adopted on April 2009 a set of measures which will make up the action package on climate and energy to be implemented by the EU. The legal texts integrated in the climate and energy package have now been released in the OJEU:

• Regulation (EC) Nº 443/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 setting emission performance standards for new passenger cars as part of the Community's integrated approach to reduce CO2 emissions from light-duty vehicles.
• Directive 2009/28/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources and amending and subsequently repealing Directives 2001/77/EC and 2003/30/EC.
• Directive 2009/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 amending Directive 2003/87/EC so as to improve and extend the greenhouse gas emission allowance trading scheme of the Community.
• Directive 2009/30/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 amending Directive 98/70/EC as regards the specification of petrol, diesel and gas-oil and introducing a mechanism to monitor and reduce greenhouse gas emissions and amending Council Directive 1999/32/EC as regards the specification of fuel used by inland waterway vessels and repealing Directive 93/12/EEC.
• Directive 2009/31/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the geological storage of carbon dioxide and amending Council Directive 85/337/EEC, European Parliament and Council Directives 2000/60/EC, 2001/80/EC, 2004/35/EC, 2006/12/EC, 2008/1/EC and Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006.
• Decision Nº 406/2009/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the effort of Member States to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to meet the Community’s greenhouse gas emission reduction commitments up to 2020.