World Environment Day: Parliament's non-stop fight against climate change
6 Jun 2014 03:37 PM
“Raise your voice,
not the sea level” is the motto of this year´s World Environment
Day, which calls attention to the impact climate change has on small islands.
The day is held on 5 June every year to raise awareness and encourage people to
act to protect the environment. The European Parliament has been at the
forefront of the world´s response to global warming, by adopting
legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and by guiding the EU towards a
low-carbon economy.
To combat global warming, the EU
and the world have been trying to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In the last
year alone, the Parliament has among others passed measures to promote
energy-saving, rules to reduce CO2 emissions from road transport, mandatory
energy labelling for appliances, as well as tougher standards for fluorinated
gases in air-conditioning and freezers.
The Parliament has also
supported the development of second generation biofuels and approved plans to
freeze the auctioning of some CO2 permits from the European Emissions Trading
System scheme in order to encourage low-carbon innovation. MEPs have also
backed plans for reducing the use of the most common plastic bags by at least
80% by 2019.
Ambitious and binding
climate targets
The Parliament has been calling
for even more ambitious and binding climate targets for both the EU and the
rest of the world. In February, MEPs called for a 40% cut in CO2 emissions from
1990 levels, a 30% target for renewable energy and a 40% target for energy
efficiency by 2030. They have also consistently called on the EU to show
greater ambition in the talks for the new global climate change treaty that is
expected to be adopted by the Paris Climate Conference in December
2015.