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The EU's effort-sharing legislation covers greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in sectors not included in the EU emissions trading system. A wide range of sources account for these emissions, such as petrol and diesel used for road transport, energy used for heating and cooling in buildings, animal digestion and fertilisers used in agriculture, waste treatment, and small industries. To cut the emissions in these sectors, the EU effort-sharing legislation establishes binding targets and sets up annual ...

To reach the climate neutrality envisaged in the Green Deal by 2050, reducing agricultural GHG emissions is not enough, and efforts to implement large scale carbon sequestration in European agricultural soils will be necessary. The renewed CAP includes improvements in environmental conditionality and foresees eco-schemes and agri-environmental measures that can help achieve this goal. Carbon sequestration in soil is cost-effective, but improvements in methodology are still required, as well as the ...

On 14 July 2021 the European Commission adopted the 'fit for 55' package, a set of legislative proposals to meet the new EU objective of a minimum 55 % reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030. The fit for 55 package is part of the Commission's European Green Deal, which aims to set the EU firmly on the path towards net zero GHG emissions (climate neutrality) by 2050. The fit for 55 package includes a regulation establishing a new social climate fund (SCF). The aim of the SCF is to help ...

As part of the EU Climate Law agreement in 2021, the European Commission committed to revise the Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) Regulation to ensure an increase in carbon removals in the sector towards 2030. The proposal was included in the Commission's 'fit for 55' package. LULUCF carbon sink functions are an essential part of the EU's carbon neutrality pathway. The European Parliament will vote its position during the June I session, following adoption in the Committee on the Environment ...

Local communities in the Arctic face a unique set of challenges, including remoteness, depopulation and a severe climate and topography. EU regional policy can support development in the European Arctic through investments under the European structural and investment funds, delivered through regional development and European territorial cooperation programmes, with further support also available in the form of a special aid allocation for northern sparsely populated regions. Structural funds represent ...

This study provides information on requirements and goals for successful transformation towards a climate neutral future at regional level in the EU. Based on the analysis of six regional best practice examples across the EU, the key drivers, conditions and instruments for a successful transformation were identified. The project results in the formulation of specified policy recommendations for EU decision-makers in the field of supporting the EU regions in achieving the goals of climate neutrality ...

This study was prepared at the request of the Budget Committee and assesses the Commission’s recent legislative proposals for the new own resources included in the interinstitutional roadmap agreed together with the NextGenerationEU programme. These are a plastic-based contribution as well as own resources based on the EU Emission Trading System and a carbon border adjustment mechanism. Also, own resources based on the reallocation of taxation rights on profits of large MNE according to Pillar I. ...

As part of the fit for 55 package to make the EU's policies fit for the EU's climate targets, on 14 July 2021, the European Commission presented a proposal to increase the production and use of sustainable fuels in aviation, also known as the ReFuelEU Aviation initiative. In the draft regulation, the Commission proposes placing obligations on fuel suppliers to distribute sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) and growing the share of SAFs (including synthetic aviation fuels, also known as renewable fuels ...

As a general-purpose technology, artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to change our lives. It could bring many benefits, from increasing farming efficiency to helping to fight climate change and making transport safer, cleaner and more efficient. However, AI also generates a number of issues, such as opaque decision-making, discrimination, or intrusion into our private lives. To investigate these challenges and to analyse the impact of AI on the EU economy, the European Parliament decided ...

This briefing has been prepared to support the parliamentary scrutiny of the delegated act (DA) amending Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/2139 (‘Climate delegated act’) as regards economic activities in certain energy sectors and Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/2178 (‘Disclosure delegated act’) as regards specific public disclosures for those economic activities. In accordance with the empowerments set out in Articles 10(3) and 11(3) of the Taxonomy Regulation , the Commission shall adopt a DA to establish ...