European Union News - Environmnet

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.

This group will aim to grant the Commission technical advice to decide on the authorisation of the use of products, substances and techniques in organic farming and processing, to develop or improve organic production rules and, more in general, for any other matter relating to the area of organic production.

Through the GMES  initiative, Europe is developing its own system to monitor the state and evolution of environment. This flagship project was one of the topics covered by European space policy ministers and European Space Agency (ESA) representatives meeting at the Sixth Space Council on 29 May.

Reaching the 2020 renewable energy targets is expected to lead to around 2.8 million jobs in the renewable energy sector and generate a total value added of around 1.1% of GDP. This is the main conclusion of a European Commission's study on the impact of renewable energy policy on economic growth and employment in the European Union (Employ-RES) which is already available in the Internet. Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs said: "This shows that benefits of renewables in terms of security of supply and fighting climate change can go hand in hand with economic benefits".

A new report from the Joint Research Centre (JRC) says that man-made global greenhouse gas emissions increased by 15% between 2000 and 2005, a sharp increase in the expected rate of growth. It also shows that global annual emissions of greenhouse gases increased from 24 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents in 1970 to 33 billion tonnes in 1990 and 41 billion tonnes in 2005.

The emissions inventory compiled by the European Environment Agency for 2007, the latest year for which complete data is available, shows that EU-15 emissions dropped by 1.6% from 2006 while the economy grew by 2.7 %. The reduction takes EU-15 emissions to 5.0% below their levels in the base year (1990 in most cases). This puts the EU-15 well on track to meet its Kyoto Protocol target of reducing emissions in the 2008-2012 period to an average of 8% below the base year level.

Six months prior to the UN Climate Change Conference (COP15) in Copenhagen, the World Business Summit on Climate Change will bring together in Copenhagen between May 24th and 25th, CEOs, government representatives, scientists and leading thinkers to put forward recommendations for the next global treaty on climate change.

One fifth of Europe’s reptiles and nearly a quarter of its amphibians are threatened, according to new studies commissioned by the European Commission and carried out by IUCN which will be presented on World Biodiversity Day. Most of the pressure on these declining species comes from mankind's destruction of their natural habitats, combined with climate change, pollution and the presence of invasive species.

The European Commission launched on may 19th a call for proposals covering key energy infrastructure projects such as energy interconnections, offshore wind energy and carbon capture and storage as part of the implementation of the European Energy Programme for Recovery (EEPR), on which the Council and the Parliament recently reached agreement. Project promoters are invited to submit their proposals by July 15th 2009.

The Commission has published in the Official Journal of the European Union on May 15th, a Call for Proposals for the development of actions in conservation and environmental policy in the scope of the Programme LIFE+.

On May 15th 2009, the OJEU has publisehd Directive 2009/33/EC on the promotion of clean and energy-efficient road transport vehicles. This Directive aims to stimulate the market for clean and energy-efficient road transport vehicles,  and to influence the market for standardised vehicles produced in larger quantities such as passenger cars, buses, coaches and trucks, by ensuring a level of demand for clean and energy-efficient road transport vehicles which is sufficiently substantial to encourage manufacturers and the industry to invest in and further develop vehicles with low energy consumption, CO 2 emissions, and pollutant emissions.