The EU has submitted its intended nationally determined contribution (INDC) to the UNFCCC Secretariat, making it the second party to do so.
The contribution, approved by the Environment Council, states that the EU intends to achieve at least a 40% domestic reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions below 1990 levels by 2030, in line with the EU 2030 Climate and Energy Framework, which was agreed by the European Council in October 2014.
6 March 2015: The EU has submitted its intended nationally determined contribution (INDC) to the UNFCCC Secretariat, the second party to do so after Switzerland. The contribution, approved by the Environment Council, indicates that the EU intends to achieve at least a 40% domestic reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions below 1990 levels by 2030, in line with the EU 2030 Climate and Energy Framework, which was agreed by the European Council in October 2014.
The EU’s INDC covers the energy, industrial processes and product use, agriculture, waste, and land-use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) sectors. The GHGs included are those not covered by the Montreal Protocol: carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) and nitrogen trifluoride (NF3).
The EU’s INDC comes in advance of a new universal climate agreement, which is scheduled to be adopted at the UN climate conference in Paris, France, in December 2015. Governments have agreed to submit their INDCs in advance of Paris with many developed and bigger developing countries expected to do so in the first quarter of this year.
The submission came just after the European Environment Agency (EEA) released its five-year assessment of Europe’s environment on 2 March 2015. The report, ‘European Environment – State and Outlook 2015 (SOER 2015),’ evaluates the impact of EU environmental policies and identifies trends in Europe’s natural capital, resource efficiency, and health and well-being.
SOER 2015 gives a very positive review of the benefits EU policies have delivered, but finds many remaining challenges that will “require fundamental changes in the systems of production and consumption that are the root cause of environmental problems.” While Europeans enjoy a higher quality of life, cleaner air and water, increased innovation, and job creation and growth thanks to their climate and environmental policies, the report cites such formidable challenges as biodiversity loss, climate change, negation of efficiency gains from increased consumption, ocean acidification, growing use of chemicals and resource depletion.
The report highlights that in order to meet the 7th Environment Action Programme’s objective of “living well within the limits of the planet” by 2050, not only must current policies be fully implemented, but more ambitious policies must be established. [UNFCCC Press Release] [European Commission Press Release] [EU INDC] [EEA Press Release] [Publication: European Environment – State and Outlook 2015] [IISD RS Story on Switzerland’s INDC]