Laura Bolado

This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. This Practice Note is a snapshot on the 2020 EU Climate and Energy Package also known as the 20–20–20 package. It aimed to achieve a 20% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions a 20% share of energy from renewable sources and a 20% improvement in energy efficiency by 2020.

This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. This Practice Note is a snapshot on the 2030 Climate and Energy Framework adopted by EU leaders in October 2014. The framework complemented and built on pre-existing policies, such as the 2020 EU Climate and Energy Package with the view of tackling more effectively climate change and the EU’s energy dependency on non-EU countries in the years to come. This Practice Note considers the key elements to the 2030 Climate and Energy Framework, including greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction, reform of the European Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS), EU targets for the share of renewable energy and energy efficiency, a connected internal energy market and energy security. It also looks at revisions to the framework’s targets introduced by the Clean Energy Package.

This Practice Note explains the existing procedures for the revision (amendment) of the EU Treaties and provides some examples of their usage after the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty. It also provides general guidance on ratification and tips on which ‘Treaties’ are not to be considered EU Treaties per se.

This Practice Note provides a snapshot of the Bathing Waters Directive 2006/7/EC. The Bathing Water Directive aims to preserve, protect and improve the quality of the environment and to protect human health. This note gives an overview of the key requirements of the Directive, including monitoring and quality assessment obligations, the classification of bathing waters, the establishment of bathing water profiles, and public information and pollution warning requirements. It was produced in partnership with Laura Bolado.

This Practice Note is a snapshot on the Birds Directive 2009/147/EC, which deals with the conservation of all species of naturally occurring wild birds in the EU. It covers the protection, management and control of these species and sets out rules for their exploitation. It was produced in partnership with Laura Bolado.

This Practice Note provides an overview of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, where it comes from, how it was interpreted before the Treaty of Lisbon and, most importantly, how it is applied following the entry into force of the Treaty. In addition, it explains and contrasts the Council of Europe’s Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), the rulings of its Court (ECtHR) and how they interact with the EU as a whole, particularly with EU case law. It also makes reference to the past situation of the UK with regard to the application of the Charter and the scope for divergence between UK and EU law in this area post-Brexit.

This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. This Practice Note is a snapshot on the Clean Energy Package (also known as the EU ‘Winter Package’ or ‘ Fourth Energy Package’) that was presented as a set of legislative proposals and policy measures by the European Commission in late November 2016. The package comprises measures in various energy-related areas including energy efficiency, renewables, the Energy Union and aims to empower consumers while delivering economic growth and jobs creation.

This Practice Note provides an overview of EU action taken in the fight against climate change from the 1990s and the evolution of climate policy leading up to the launch of the European Green Deal in 2019. It covers key international agreements in this period, including the United Nations Convention on Climate Change, the Kyoto Protocol, and the Paris Agreement, summarises work done as part of the first and second European Climate Change Programmes, and provides an overview of current key EU climate-related policies and strategies.

This Practice Note examines the doctrine of direct effect of EU law and illustrates with reference to EU case law the requirements established for it to apply. Both direct and indirect effect are considered, with case law examples, and the definition of ‘emanation from the State’ is also explored.

This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. This Practice Note is a snapshot on the Effort Sharing Decision (ESD) 2009/406/EC, which established binding annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emission targets for Member States for the period 2013–20 for GHG emissions from most sectors not included in the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), such as transport, buildings, agriculture and waste. The Practice Note considers the purpose and scope of the ESD, key definitions and requirements, emission levels for the period 2013–2020, energy efficiency improvements, use of credits from project activities, reporting and evaluation of progress, what corrective action can be taken where a Member State’s emissions exceed the annual emission allocation (AEA), adjustments applicable upon the approval by the EU of an international agreement on climate change, as well as changes made to Directive 2003/87/EC and Regulation (EU) 994/2008, and the Commission’s reporting requirements to evaluate the implementation of the ESD. This Practice Note also links to related Brexit content.

This Practice Note is a snapshot on the Energy Efficiency Directive 2012/27/EU which established a set of binding measures to help the EU reach its 20% energy efficiency target by 2020 and its updated targets under the Clean Energy Package for 2030. Directive 2012/27/EU will be repealed with effect from 12 October 2025 by the recast Energy Efficiency Directive (EU) 2023/1791, which entered into force on 10 October 2023.

This archived Practice Note is a snapshot of the Energy Labelling Directive 2010/30/EU (Energy Labelling Directive) which established a framework for the harmonisation of national measures on end-user information for energy-related products via labelling and standard product information. The Energy Labelling Directive was repealed by Regulation (EU) 2017/1369 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 July 2017 setting a framework for energy labelling. This Practice Note also links to related Brexit content.

This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. This Practice Note is a snapshot on the 2011 EU Roadmap for moving to a competitive low-carbon economy in 2050. The Roadmap is used as a basis for EU actions in sectors such as energy, construction, transport, and energy-intensive industries which are core to improving energy efficiency and developing a low-carbon economy. The Roadmap was issued to help the EU deliver greenhouse gas reductions of 80% by 2050 (compared with 1990 levels) with intermediate cuts of 25% by 2020, 40% by 2030 and 60% by 2040 and to ensure that the EU ETS remained a key driver for low-carbon investments. This Practice Note considers the intended benefits and key elements of the EU 2050 low-carbon economy roadmap, as well as the developments in EU climate policies which have followed the 2050 Roadmap including the European Green Deal and European Climate Law, the current defining target of which is to achieve net zero emissions in the EU by 2050.

This Practice Note provides a snapshot of the Ambient Air Quality Directives 2008/50/EC and 2004/107/EC, which together aim to protect human health and the environment by establishing measures to monitor the purity of ambient (or outside) air, and removing any pollutants, to ensure the air we breathe is as clean as possible. This Practice Note covers key requirements and definitions, competent authorities, zones and agglomerations, air quality assessment, air quality management, plans, and information and reporting requirements. Note that both Ambient Air Quality Directives will be repealed with effect from 12 December 2026. It was produced in partnership with Laura Bolado.

This Practice Note provides a summary of the Floods Directive (Directive 2007/60/EC) on the assessment and management of flood risks. It covers the purpose scope and scope of the Directive, and the key provisions relating to the preliminary assessment of flood risks, flood hazard maps and flood risk maps, and flood risk management plans.

This Practice Note provides a snapshot of the EU Medium Combustion Plant Directive (EU) 2015/2193 which regulates emissions from the combustion of fuels in certain type of plants. Medium combustion plants are typically used for electricity generation, heating and cooling and providing heat or steam for industrial processes. The Directive applies to plants with a rated thermal input between 1 MW and less than 50 MW, and regulates emissions of sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and dust into the air. It fills the regulatory gap at EU level between large combustion plants (covered by the Industrial Emissions Directive 2010/75/EU) and smaller heaters and boilers covered by delegated ecodesign requirements. This Practice Note covers the scope of the Directive, permitting and registration requirements, emission limit values, operational requirements, and provisions on enforcement and penalties.

This Practice Note provides a snapshot of the EU Mobile Air-Conditioning Systems (MAC) Directive 2006/40/EC relating to emissions from air-conditioning systems in motor vehicles. The EU MAC Directive provides for a gradual ban on air conditioning systems designed to contain fluorinated gases (F-gases) with a high global warming potential. The Practice Note covers the scope of the Directive, the phased prohibitions, and outlines the linked vehicle type approval process.

This Practice Note provides a snapshot of the EU Paints Directive 2004/42/EC, which aims to prevent the negative environmental effects of emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOC) from decorative paints and vehicle refinishing products. It covers the scope of the Directive and the conditions for placement of paints on the market (comprising VOC limit values and labelling obligations).

This is a snapshot of the EU persistent organic pollutants (POPs) Regulation (EU) 2019/1021, which recast and repealed Regulation (EC) 850/2004 on persistent organic pollutants. This Practice Note covers the purpose and scope of the Regulation and its key requirements, including controls on production, placement on the market and use and rules for management of waste containing POPs.

This Practice Note provides a snapshot on the EU Prior Informed Consent (PIC) Regulation (EU) 649/2012, which regulates the import and export of certain hazardous chemicals and places obligations on companies who wish to export these chemicals to non-EU countries. The Regulation implements the Rotterdam Convention on the prior informed consent procedure for certain hazardous chemicals and pesticides in international trade in the EU. This Practice Note details the key elements, objectives and scope of the Regulation, and covers the export notification procedure, export bans, explicit consent requirements, information requirements, and the PIC notification procedure, and how information exchanges should be facilitated. This Practice Note was produced in partnership with Laura Bolado.