Regulation 2018/842 - Binding annual greenhouse gas emission reductions by Member States from 2021 to 2030 contributing to climate action to meet commitments under the Paris Agreement - Main contents

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 156/26

The European Council in its conclusions of 23-24 October 2014 on the 2030 climate and energy policy framework endorsed a binding target of at least a 40 % domestic reduction in economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 compared to 1990 and that target was reaffirmed in the European Council conclusions of 17-18 March 2016.

The European Council conclusions of 23-24 October 2014 stated that the emissions reduction target of at least 40 % should be delivered collectively by the Union in the most cost-effective manner possible, with the reductions in the European Union emissions trading system (‘EU ETS’) laid down in Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (4) and non-ETS sectors amounting to 43 % and 30 %, respectively, by 2030 compared to 2005. All sectors of the economy should contribute to achieving these greenhouse gas emission reductions, and all Member States should participate in this effort, balancing considerations of fairness and solidarity. The methodology to set the national reduction targets for the non-ETS sectors, with all the elements applied in Decision No 406/2009/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (5), should be continued until 2030 with efforts distributed on the basis of relative Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita. All Member States should contribute to the overall Union reduction in 2030 with the targets spanning from 0 % to – 40 % compared to 2005. National targets within the group of Member States with a GDP per capita above the Union average should be adjusted relatively to reflect cost-effectiveness in a fair and balanced manner. Achieving these greenhouse gas emission reductions should boost efficiency and innovation in the Union economy and should, in particular, promote improvements, notably in buildings, agriculture, waste management and transport, in so far as they fall under the scope of this Regulation.

This Regulation forms part of the implementation of the Union’s contributions under the Paris Agreement (6) adopted under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (‘UNFCCC’). The Paris Agreement was concluded on behalf of the Union on 5 October 2016 by Council Decision (EU) 2016/1841 (7). The commitment of the Union to economy-wide greenhouse gas emission reductions was set out in the intended nationally determined contribution submitted in view of the Paris Agreement by the Union and its Member States to the Secretariat of the UNFCCC on 6 March 2015. The Paris Agreement entered into force on 4 November 2016 and replaces the approach taken under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol which will not be continued beyond 2020.

The Paris Agreement, inter alia, sets out a long-term goal in line with the objective to keep the global temperature increase well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to keep it to 1,5 °C above pre-industrial levels. It also stresses the importance to...