The world is changing fast. The mix of energy that provides heat, light, and mobility for billions of people is shifting towards lower-carbon sources, driven by advances in technology and growing concerns about climate change. We have to help to meet the world’s need for more energy while also reducing carbon emissions[1].
At the Paris climate conference (COP21) in December 2015, 195 countries adopted the first-ever universal, legally binding global climate deal. The agreement sets out a global action plan to put the world on track to avoid dangerous climate change by limiting global warming to well below 2°C[2]. EU countries were one of the major participants at COP21.
The Role of EU Countries to keep track of Paris Agreement
The 2020 package is a set of binding legislation to ensure the EU meets its climate and energy targets for the year 2020.
The package sets three key targets:
1- 20% cut in greenhouse gas emissions (from 1990 levels)
2- 20% of EU energy from renewables
3- 20% improvement in energy efficiency
The targets were set by EU leaders in 2007 and enacted legislation in 2009. They are also headline targets of the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth[3].
Several roadmaps to reach to targets
There are several ways for decreasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions including using renewable energies, new technologies and services with lower energy consumption, efficient energy systems, sustainable transport and so on.
In the next articles, we deal with all these ways.
