The EU is fighting climate change through ambitious policies at home and in close cooperation with international partners. In 2015, 196 parties - among them the EU and its member states - signed the Paris Agreement which is considered a milestone in multilateral efforts to address the threat of global climate change. For the first time, an international agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions included commitments from all of the major emitting countries of the world.

There is new energy in the fight against climate change just before the end of the year: At the European Council of December 2020, EU leaders took things to the next level by endorsing the target to further cut emissions by at least 55% by 2030 from 1990 levels.

The European Green Deal 

As a major step to make the climate neutrality a reality, the European Commission announced the European Green Deal in December 2019 as the strategy for transforming the EU into a modern, resource-efficient, competitive and sustainable economy that creates better jobs and enhances people’s well-being.

The European Green Deal is an overarching strategy encompassing various sectors including energy, environment, agriculture, biodiversity, transport, buildings and renovation. It aims to transform the EU into a fair and prosperous society where there are no net emissions of greenhouse gases from 2050 and where economic growth is decoupled from environmental impacts.

Achieving this goal will require us to turn climate and environmental challenges into opportunities in all policy areas and to achieve a fair, just and inclusive transition for all.

It's about every aspect of our lives

You can also make changes in your own daily habits to do your part to protect the climate. Collectively and individually, we have the power to limit climate change. With the European Climate Pact, the EU is now inviting people, communities and organisations to participate in climate action and build a greener Europe.

The pact is an EU-wide initiative that invites people, communities and organisations to

• Connect and share knowledge
• Learn about climate change
• Develop, implement and scale up solutions

There will be many ways to take part, like becoming a Climate Pact Ambassador, simply take climate-friendly action and make a pledge or register your own satellite event to mobilise your community.

Going net zero

Our planet is experiencing significant climate change and the alarming scientific evidence on global warming is raising climate ambitions around the world. There is increasing pressure on governments to do more to limit global warming to well below 2° C while pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5° C above pre-industrial levels, in accordance with the objectives of the Paris Agreement.

In order to meet those objectives, global greenhouse gas emissions should reach net zero in the second half of this century. The EU has set itself the objective of becoming climate neutral by 2050. In its meeting this week, the Environment Council reached an agreement on a general approach on the proposal for a European climate law.

Emissions can be reduced in many sectors for example by making buildings more energy-efficient, increasing the share of renewables in our energy mix, developing smart solutions for energy and a transport system that runs on alternative, low or zero-carbon fuels as well as improving the efficiency of industrial processes.