CLIMATE CHANGE AND EU COMMITMENT FOR PARIS CONFERENCE

The EU and its 28 Member States are fully committed to the UNFCCC negotiating process with a view to adopting a global legally binding agreement applicable to all Parties at the Paris Conference in December 2015 in line with the below 2° C objective. The Lima Conference confirmed the Warsaw decision that all Parties should communicate their 'Intended Nationally Determined Contribution ' (INDC) in the first quarter of 2015 in a manner that facilitates the clarity, transparency and understanding of the INDC.

The EU and its Member States are committed to a binding target of an at least 40% domestic reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 compared to 1990. The target represents a significant progression beyond its current undertaking of a 20% emission reduction commitment by 2020 compared to 1990 (which includes the use of offsets). It is in line with the EU objective, in the context of necessary reductions according to the IPCC by developed countries as a group to reduce its emissions by 80-95% by 2050 compared to 1990. Furthermore, it is consistent with the need for at least halving global emissions by 2050 compared to 1990. The EU and its Member States have already reduced their emissions by around 19% on 1990 levels while GDP has grown by more than 44% over the same period. As a result, average per capita emissions across the EU and its Member States have fallen from 12 tonnes CO2-eq. in 1990 to 9 tonnes CO2-eq. in 2012 and are projected to fall around 6 tonnes CO2-eq. in 2030.

Sectors/Source Categories

 Energy

 Fuel Combustion

• Energy industries
• Manufacturing industries and construction
• Transport
• Other sectors
• Other

Fuel emissions from fuels

• Solid fuels
• Oil and natural gas and other emissions from energy production

CO2 transport and storage

Industrial processes and product use

• Mineral industry
• Chemical industry
• Metal industry
• Non-energy products from fuels and solvent use
• Electronic industry
• Product uses as substitutes for ODS
• Other product manufacture and use
• Other

 Agriculture

• Enteric fermentation
• Manure management
• Rice cultivation
• Agricultural soils
• Prescribed burning of agricultural residues
• Liming
• Urea application
• Other carbon-containing fertilisers
• Other

 Waste

• Solid waste disposal
• Biological treatment of solid waste
• Incineration and open burning of waste
• Wastewater treatment and discharge

 Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry set out in Decision 529/2013/EU

• Afforestation, reforestation
• Deforestation
• Forest management
• Cropland management
• Grazing land management
• Or equivalent land-based accounting using UNFCCC reporting categories
• Other categories/activities elected by the EU and its Member States as Parties to the Kyoto Protocol and its Doha Amendment.

 As of this day, the following countries have made known their commitments

1. Switzerland (2015-02-27)
2. Latvia and the European Commission on behalf of the EU and its Member States (2015-03-06)
3. Norway (2015-03-27)
4. Mexico (2015-03-30)
5. USA (2015-03-31)
6. Gabon (2015-04-01)
7. Russia (2015-04-01)
8. Liechtenstein (2015-04-23)
9. Andorra (2015-04-30)
10. Canada (2015-05-15)
11. Morroco (2015-06-05)
12. Ethiopia (2015-06-10)