The European Union

The EU (European Union) is an economical and political union of its current 27 member states. As such, the EU political status is to locale somewhere between a regular state, and an international organization. EU is a vital player in the world's efforts to make a new global treaty at the UN COP15 summit in Copenhagen in December 2009. In the COP (Conference Of the Parties) summits, the EU negotiates on behalf of all its member states which have decided on a common strategy prior to the meetings. In September 2007, the EU leaders committed to an overall 20 % reduction in energy consumption by 2020 (read this booklet). However, because the member states are very different and have diverse, and sometimes conflictual interests and priorities, this common strategy is still being discussed heavily - not least in the backdrop of the financial crisis. The following is an overview of which EU institutions affect the EU's climate policies.

In 2007, the EU formulated an integrated energy and climate change policy, a commitment to cut emissions of ‘greenhouse' gases by at least 20 % by 2020, and a promise to take the lead in international negotiations to adopt even more ambitious targets. This will help prevent the world's temperatures rising by more than 2 °C, the level which is increasingly thought by scientists to be the point of no return. To achieve this goal, the EU has stated that it needs to use energy resources more sustainably and take actions to switch to more renewable forms of energy, capturing and storing carbon dioxide and reversing deforestation.

Council of Ministers

The Council of Ministers is the legislative arm of the EU institutions. It is made up of relevant ministers from member states  - for instance ministers for energy or the environment. They meet to decide which policies are ready for an agreement and which policies need further work in order to ensure an agreement between the different member states. The decision procedures for the Council of Ministers differ from area to area. Learn more about the whole legal and institutional setup of the EU at http://europa.eu/index_en.htm.

The European Commission

The European Commission (EC) corresponds to the executive branch in a national constitution. It enacts the laws decided in the Council of Ministers. And also, it does the preparatory work to formulate the policies - in cooperation with Member State officials - and is the only institution in the EU that can put forward policy proposals. The EC is composed of many different departments, called Directorates-General (DGs), that all take care of their specific areas. The work to put forward common EU policies on climate change policies is often made by many different departments, but the most important Directorates-General affecting EU's climate change policies are:

DG Environment is the main coordinating Directorate-General for the EU's common policies towards climate change. DG Environment is coordinating the EU's approach to the Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS) in the period after 2012, where the Kyoto Protocol runs out. Also, DG Environment has formulated a general approach to EU's common action plan.

DG Energy and Transport. Deals with renewable energy and with sustainable forms of transportation.

DG Research. Especially the current Seventh framework Program (FP7) is relevant.

DG Enterprise and Industry. Connects climate change policies with business solutions.

DG Regional Policy. Works on making the different EU policy proposals fit with different regional requirements of the EU Member States.

The European Parliament

The European Parliament (EP) is the only directly elected parliamentary institution of the EU. Together with the Council of Ministers, it forms the bicameral legislative branch of the Union's institutions. However the EP's powers are limited, as it cannot put forward policy proposals (as function only to be conducted by the European Commission). So what the EP does is supervise the other EU institutions and to propose changes and reject law proposals put forward by the Commission, or decided upon by the Council of Ministers. Regarding climate change polices, the EP has two particular functions. Firstly, the individual Members of the Parliament (MEPs) take on concrete cases and proposals that they would like to put forward. Secondly, the EP puts up working groups to work on different areas of the EU's climate policies.

See http://www.europarl.europa.eu/parliament/public.do?language=en

The European Environment Agency

The European Environment Agency (EEA) is an agency of the European Union with the task of providing sound, independent information on the environment. It is an information source for those involved in developing, adopting, implementing and evaluating environmental policy, and also the general public.  EEA's mandate is to help the Community and member countries make informed decisions about improving the environment, integrating environmental considerations into economic policies and moving towards sustainability, and to coordinate the European environment information and observation network (Eionet). The main clients of the EEA are the European Union institutions - the European Commission, the European Parliament, the Council - and the member countries.

EU Emissions Trading System

Central to the EU climate action and action on renewable energy is the Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), administered by DG Environment. This is the EU's key tool for cutting emissions cost-effectively. Emissions from the sectors covered by the system will be cut by 21% by 2020 compared with levels in 2005. A single EU-wide cap on ETS emissions will be set, and free allocation of emission allowances will be progressively replaced by auctioning of allowances by 2020. Emissions from sectors not included in the EU ETS - such as transport, housing, agriculture and waste - will be cut by 10% from 2005 levels by 2020. Each Member State will contribute to this effort according to its relative wealth, with national emission targets ranging from -20% for richer Member States to +20% for poorer ones.