2020 climate & energy package
- Policy
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The 2020 package is a set of laws passed to ensure the EU meets its climate and energy targets for the year 2020.
The package sets three key targets:
- 20% cut in greenhouse gas emissions (from 1990 levels)
- 20% of EU energy from renewables
- 20% improvement in energy efficiency
The targets were set by EU leaders in 2007 and enacted in legislation in 2009.
The EU is taking action in several areas to meet the targets.
Emissions trading system (ETS)
The EU emissions trading system is the EU's key tool for cutting greenhouse gas emissions from large-scale facilities in the power and industry sectors, as well as the aviation sector.
The ETS covered around 40% of total EU emissions (excluding international aviation) in 2019.
In 2020, the target is for the emissions from these sectors to be 21% lower than in 2005.
National emission reduction targets
These targets cover the effort sharing sectors (i.e. non-ETS and non-LULUCF) – accounting for some 60% of total EU emissions (excluding international aviation) in 2019 – such as:
- non-ETS industry
- housing
- agriculture
- waste
- transport (excluding aviation).
EU countries have taken on binding annual targets until 2020 for cutting emissions in these sectors (compared to 2005), under the "effort sharing decision".
The targets vary according to national wealth – from a 20% cut for the richest countries to a maximum 20% increase for the least wealthy (although they were still projected to have to make efforts to limit emissions) by 2020.
Progress is monitored by the Commission every year, with each country required to report its emissions.
Renewable energy – national targets
EU member countries have also taken on binding national targets for raising the share of renewable energy in their energy consumption by 2020 under the Renewable Energy Directive.
These targets also vary, to reflect countries' different starting points for renewable energy production and their ability to increase it – from 10% in Malta to 49% in Sweden.
The overall effect will enable the EU as a whole to reach:
- its 20% target for 2020 (more than double the 2010 level of 9.8%)
- a 10% share of renewables in the transport sector.
Innovation and financing
The EU supports the development of low carbon technologies for example through the:
- NER300 programme for renewable energy technologies and carbon capture & storage
- Horizon 2020 funding for research & innovation.
Energy efficiency
Measures for increasing energy efficiency are set out in the Energy Efficiency Directive.
Benefits
Achieving the goals of the 2020 package should also help
- increase the EU’s energy security – reducing dependence on imported energy and contributing to achieving a European Energy Union
- create jobs, advance green growth and make Europe more competitive.
- Documentation
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Useful documents
- 01 Feb 2012 - Commission Staff Working Paper: Analysis of options beyond 20% GHG emission reductions: Member State results
- Citizens' summaries:
- 26 May 2010 - COM (2010) 265 - Communication: Analysis of options to move beyond 20% greenhouse gas emission reductions and assessing the risk of carbon leakage
- 26 May 2010 - SEC (2010) 650 - Staff Working Documents accompanying the Communication: Analysis of options to move beyond 20% greenhouse gas emission reductions and assessing the risk of carbon leakage: Part I - Part II
- 26 May 2010 - MEMO - Questions and answers on the Communication Analysis of options to move beyond 20% greenhouse gas emission reductions and assessing the risk of carbon leakage
- 23 Apr 2009 - Directive 2009/29/EC - Directive 2009/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 amending Directive 2003/87/EC so as to improve and extend the greenhouse gas emission allowance trading scheme of the Community
- 23 Apr 2009 - Decision 406/2009/EC - Decision No 406/2009/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the effort of Member States to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to meet the Community’s greenhouse gas emission reduction commitments up to 2020 ("Effort Sharing Decision")
- 23 Apr 2009 - Directive 2009/28/EC - Directive 2009/28/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources and amending and subsequently repealing Directives 2001/77/EC and 2003/30/EC ("Renewable energy Directive") - Summary
- 23 Apr 2009 - Directive 2009/31/EC - Directive on the geological storage of carbon dioxide
- 23 Apr 2009 - MEMO/08/31 - Q&A on the guidelines on state aid for the environment (January 2008)
- 12 Dec 2008 - Presidency conclusions of the European Council
- 12 Dec 2008 - Energy and climate package - elements of the final compromise agreed by the European Council
- 01 Apr 2008 - Community guidelines on State aid for environmental protection
- 23 Jan 2008 - COM (2008) 30 - Communication from the Commission: 20 20 by 2020 - Europe's climate change opportunity
- 23 Jan 2008 - SEC (2008) 85 - Joint impact assessment on the package of implementation measures for the EU's objectives on climate change and renewable energy for 2020 - Annex to the Impact Assessment
Background technical reports and studies
- 30 Jan 2012 - Technical report accompanying analysis of options to move beyond 20% GHG emission reduction in the EU by 2020
- 04 Aug 2010 - EU Energy and GHG Emission Trends to 2030 - Update 2009
- 26 May 2010 - Potentials and costs for mitigation of non-CO2 greenhouse gas emissions in the European Union until 2030 - update 2010
- Energy Baseline Report: Trends to 2030 - Update 2007
- 12 Dec 2008 - Detailed information on emissions and costs of non-CO2 greenhouse gases (International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis)
- Jun 2008 - Model-based Analysis of the 2008 EU Policy Package on Climate Change and Renewables - Appendixes
- May 2008 - Emission scenarios for non-CO2 greenhouse gases in the EU-27: Mitigation potentials and costs in 2020
- Studies
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Studies on climate change related aspects
The views expressed in the studies below are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Commission.
- Quantification of the effects on greenhouse gas emissions of policies and measures
- Streamlining climate change and air pollution reporting requirements
- Assessment and improvement of methodologies used for GHG projections
- Allocation and Related Issues for Post-2012 Phases of the EU ETS
- Report from the Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS) on Global Climate Policy Scenarios for 2030 and beyond – Analysis of Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Pathway Scenarios with the POLES and GEM-E3 models
- "Interactions of the EU ETS with Green And White Certificate Schemes" November 2005: Green final report, Green summary report
- Towards a Post-2012 Climate Change Regime
- Technical Report (ref: EUR 21758 EN) from the Joint Research Centre (DG JRC): Analysis of Post-2012, Climate Policy Scenarios with Limited Participation This document presents part of the modelling work conducted by DG JRC/IPTS as a contribution to the DG ENV Communication on post-2012 climate policy analysis (June 2005).
- The Impacts and Costs of Climate Change
- Greenhouse gas Reduction Pathways in the UNFCCC Process up to 2025: Policymakers Summary, Technical report, Slides
- Impacts of Linking JI and CDM credits to the European Emission Allowance Trading Scheme - Technical Report
- Establishing the Leakage Rates of Mobile Air Conditioners
- Towards an Analytical Capacity in Costing of Abatement Options for Forestry and Agricultural Carbon sinks
- Blueprints for the International Climate Negotiation at COP-6 - The Hague, and at COP-6 bis - Bonn
- Economic analysis of EU-wide emissions trading in CO2
- Economic Evaluation of Sectoral Emission Reduction Objectives for Climate Change
- Economic Evaluation of Quantitative Objectives for Climate Change
- Reduction of the emissions of HFC's, PFC's and SF6 in the European Union
- Options to Reduce Methane Emissions
- Options to Reduce Nitrous Oxide Emissions