Biofuels definition

View the related practice notes about Biofuels

Development of EU climate change policy

Development of EU climate change policy Context Humans are increasingly influencing the climate and the earth's temperature by burning fossil fuels, cutting down rainforests and farming livestock. All of this adds enormous amounts of greenhouse gases to those naturally occurring in the atmosphere, increasing the greenhouse effect and global warming. Some gases in the earth's atmosphere act a bit like the glass in a greenhouse, trapping the sun's heat and stopping it from leaking back into space. Many of these gases occur naturally but human activity is increasing the concentrations of some of them in the atmosphere, in particular: • carbon dioxide (CO2) • methane • nitrous oxide • fluorinated gases CO2 is the greenhouse gas most commonly produced by human activities and it is responsible for the majority of man-made global warming. Other greenhouse gases, such as methane and nitrous oxide, are emitted in smaller quantities, but they trap heat far more effectively than CO2. Rising emissions are caused by: • burning fossil fuels (ie coal, oil...

2030 Climate and Energy Framework—snapshot [Archived]

2030 Climate and Energy Framework—snapshot [Archived] ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. Overview The 2030 Climate and Energy Framework set three key targets for the year 2030: • at least 40% cuts in greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels • at least 27% share for renewable energy • at least 27% improvement in energy efficiency In 2018, these targets were revised under the Clean Energy for All Europeans Package (the Clean Energy Package) as follows: • at least 45% cuts in greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels • at least 32% share for renewable energy • at least 32.5% improvement in energy efficiency The framework was adopted by EU leaders in October 2014 (European Council meeting of October 2014). It builds on the 2020 Climate and Energy Package (see Practice Note: 2020 EU Climate and Energy Package—snapshot. The 2030 framework was designed in line with the longer term goals and actions set out in the 2050 Roadmap to a low carbon economy,...