‘Supporting the European Parliament on climate change –

the role of the European Environment Agency’

Professor Jacqueline McGlade, EEA Executive Director

European Parliament, Brussels, 29 September 2009

The EEA provides sound
information to EU policy‑makers
on climate issues
The European Environment Agency
is a decentralised Community Agency
based in Copenhagen. Based on a
1990 Regulation, the Agency started
to operate in 1994.
The EEA Strategy defines the main
goal of the Agency as follows: to
provide European decision-makers
and citizens with access to timely
and relevant information. The
EEA aims at providing a sound
knowledge basis for environmental
policies.
The EEA places climate change at
the centre of its activities, serving as
a data collector and information
provider to policy-makers and the
general public.
In order for the European Community
to comply with monitoring and
reporting obligations under the
international climate regime, the EEA
produces the annual Community
greenhouse gas inventory report,
which is submitted by the European
Commission on behalf of the
Community to the UN Framework
Convention on Climate Change.
The EEA also produces the
forward‑looking annual Greenhouse
gas emission trends and
projections report, which forms the
basis for the Commission reporting to
the Council and European Parliament
on progress towards meeting the
Kyoto commitments.
To facilitate easy access to
greenhouse gas information, the EEA
has developed Member‑State‑specific
country profiles as well as
user‑friendly web-based data
services.
In recent years, the Agency assessed
the impacts of and the vulnerability
to climate change in Europe. Based
on a large set of indicators, EEA
reports provided a clear view of the
necessary action, most recently
with information on adaptation and
the challenge of changing water
resources in the Alps.
Climate change has impacts
in Europe; impacts and
vulnerabilities confirm the need
to act
Observations of climate change, its
impacts and causes, are alarming.
The global average temperature
has increased almost 0.8 °C above
pre‑industrial levels. Without
reductions of greenhouse gas
emissions in line with the EU 2 °C
target, climate change will lead to
significant risks. Our societies would
struggle to cope with temperature
rises above this stabilisation target.
The vulnerability to climate change
varies, however, widely across
regions and sectors in Europe.
The main vulnerable areas in Europe
are mountainous regions, coastal
zones, river flood‑prone areas, the
Mediterranean and the Arctic. Climate
change already triggered challenges
for Europe, such as:
• increasing temperatures;
• changing precipitation: some
Mediterranean regions receive
20 % less rain than a century ago;
• a rising sea level: the global sea
level has increased up to 3.1 mm
per year in the past 15 years;
• more intense and frequent
extreme weather events: some
90 % of all natural disasters that
occurred in Europe since 1980 are
directly or indirectly attributable to
weather and climate, representing
about 95 % of the economic
losses caused by catastrophic
events;
• melting glaciers, ice sheets
and Arctic sea ice: in September
2007 the minimum surface was
only half the normal minimum
measured in the 1950s;
• additional pressures on
ecosystems: climate change
is responsible for the observed
northward and uphill shifts of
many European plant species.
By the late 21st century, 60 % of
mountain plant species may face
extinction.
These impacts underline that
adaptation to climate change must
start now, alongside continued action
mitigating the effects of climate
change.
The EU is on a pathway towards
achieving its Kyoto target, but
further measures need to be
implemented
When data became available for
the first of the EEA greenhouse gas
emission trends reports, achieving
the Kyoto targets was still a distant
prospect. In 2000, ten out of then
15 Member States were expected to
achieve their Kyoto targets.
EU emissions are decreasing:
• Greenhouse gas emissions of the
EU-27 fell for the 4th consecutive
year. Based on most recent EEA
estimates released in August 2009,
greenhouse gas emissions in 2008
stand approximately 10.7 % below
the 1990 level for the EU-27.
• In 2008, EU-15 Member States
(having a target under the
EU burden sharing) emitted
6.2 % less compared to the
base years defined by the
Kyoto Protocol.
Currently, greenhouse gas
emissions in the EU-27 account
for approximately 10.5 % of global
greenhouse gas emissions covered
by the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC). The most important
greenhouse gas is CO2, accounting
for 83 % of total EU-27 emissions in
2007 (excluding land use, land-use
change and forestry).
Between 1990 and 2007, the
average annual per capita
emissions decreased from 11.8 to
10.2 tonnes carbon‑dioxide equivalent
in the EU-27. This is still well above
the non-Annex 1 and world average
per capita emissions of 4 and
7 tonnes carbon‑dioxide equivalent
respectively. EU-27 per capita
emissions are lower than the average
15 tonnes carbon‑dioxide equivalent
per capita for industrialised countries.
Energy production and
consumption are by far the largest
contributors to greenhouse gas
emissions in the EU, accounting
for 79 % of total emissions in 2007.
Transport is the strongest contributor
to the growth in greenhouse gas
emissions.
Greenhouse gas emissions from
international aviation and maritime
transport have grown steadily
since 1990, reaching 6 % of total
EU emissions in 2007.
The 2008 trends and projections
report showed that the EU-15 Kyoto
target (an 8 % reduction from
base-year levels) will not be met
by domestic emission reductions
only. EU-15 Member States will need
to acquire additional emission rights
from other countries, using the Kyoto
flexible mechanisms.
The 2009 EEA trends and
projections report will be released
in October.
The EEA stands ready to assist
in the implementation of recent
EU legislation and a post-2012
climate regime
The European Union is almost half
way to its unilateral emission target
of 20 % greenhouse gas emissions
reductions for 2020 compared to 1990
— a target which the EU decided to
increase under certain conditions
to ‘30 % within the framework of an
ambitious and comprehensive global
agreement in Copenhagen on climate
change’. The EU intends to meet its
2020 target through implementing
the Climate and Renewable Energy
Package formally adopted in 2009.
International cooperation is key to
any solution. Climate change calls
for global regulation. Solutions will not
emerge unless governments take the
lead role.
Science is an essential basis for
decision-making on a global climate
regime. The IPCC’s 4th Assessment
report was crucial in providing a solid
scientific basis for decision-makers.
Reducing the risks of climate
change is urgent, possible and
affordable. A wide range of benefits
will flow from a concerted effort
to alter our energy economy now,
including sustainable energy job
growth, reductions in the health and
economic costs of climate change,
and the restoration of ecosystems and
revitalisation of ecosystem services.
After COP15, the EEA stands ready
to assist with the implementation
of the monitoring and reporting
aspects of a post-2012 agreement.
The Agency will continue its role as a
provider of timely, targeted, relevant
and reliable information, also when
it comes to the implementation
of the Climate and Renewable
Energy Package adopted this year.
The EEA will continue to monitor and
assess progress towards achieving
EU greenhouse gas emission
reduction targets.
For further information on EEA, visit eea.europa.eu
During the Copenhagen Climate
Conference, MEPs are invited to
work at EEA premises
The EEA will make available its own
facilities for conference participants
and relevant influencers. MEPs
travelling to Copenhagen during
UNFCCC COP15 are cordially
invited to make use of the EEA’s
premises. The EEA can provide
MEPs and their assistants with
working space and information.
In the lead up to, and throughout
the UNFCCC COP15, the EEA
will be supporting discussions
and meetings on climate change
adaptation, oceans, greenhouse
gas emission inventories and global
citizen participation in reducing carbon
emissions.