Environmental Policy [print sheet]
Last updated: 04/03/10

Environmental policy is one of the most important and far-reaching areas of EU legislation. The EU is the leading authority in this area with up to 80% of UK legislation on environmental affairs estimated to come from the EU. However, critics of EU environmental policy question the efficiency of some measures, arguing that the cost of complying with these regulations leaves European business uncompetitive, especially in the face of increased competition from countries such as China and India, which do not have such strict environmental rules.

Environmental policy is a relatively recent EU policy area. Environmental protection was not initially mentioned in the Treaty of Rome (1958), and it was not until 1972 that the first of a series of European Environmental Action Plans (EAP) was launched. The Single European Act (1986) marked the beginning of a more prominent role for environmental protection in EU policy-making, introducing the principal that environmental protection should be considered in all new Community legislation. EU environmental policy was substantially expanded by the Treaties of Maastricht (1992) and Amsterdam (1997), which made sustainable development one of the EU's central objectives. Sustainable development also forms a key part of the Lisbon Strategy launched in 2000, which underpins all EU policy regarding the single market. The Lisbon Treaty (2007) then made sustainable development a key objective for the EU.

The EU has passed legislation aimed at improving the quality of water, tackling air and noise pollution, assuring the safety of chemicals, setting standards for waste disposal and protecting the EU's native wildlife and plants. The current EAP, which runs from 2002-2012, identifies four environmental areas for priority action: climate change; nature and biodiversity; environment, health and quality of life, and natural resources and waste (the EU Landfill Directive requires states to reduce landfill waste by 50% from 1995 levels by 2013 and 65% by 2020).

The EU has also taken a leading role in global environmental negotiations, especially the signing of the Kyoto Protocol. At the 1997 UN Conference on Climate Change in Kyoto, Japan, the EU committed its members to reducing greenhouse gas emissions 8% by 2012, compared to levels in 1990 (at an EU summit meeting in March 2007, these cuts were raised to 20% by 2020). In order to meet such commitments, the EU created the Emisions Trading Scheme (ETS) in December 2002. This includes limits on the amount of carbon dioxide firms can produce in six key industries: energy, steel, cement, glass, brick-making, and paper/cardboard production.

The 2008 EU Climate Change package added aircraft emissions to the ETS (from 2012), and reasserted the EU's commitment to reduce CO2 emissions through Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) (capturing emissions and storing them so they don't enter the atmosphere). In 2008, the EU reasserted a commitment to reduce CO2 from new cars by 2010, and to fine manufacturers for each gram of carbon dioxide they produce over the target (€20 in 2012 and €95 in 2015).

In 2009, the European Court of Justice ruled that EU states can set their own limits on CO2 emissions (the EU Commission can't enforce common quotas). However, the Commission said it will appeal against this ruling because it could compromise the ETS. Poland, Estonia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, and Romania all oppose imposing EU-wide CO2 quotas. he EU endorsed energy efficient light bulbs by banning 100w incandescent (clear and non-clear) light bulbs in 2009.

The EU's political leaders have agreed that 20% of the EU's energy should come from renewable sources by 2020, for example 10% of road fuel is to be composed of biofuel by 2020. However, in the UK the 2008 Gallaher report criticised that the increased use of biofuels might be contributing to rises in global food prices. The Commission launched an investigation into this link between biofuels and rising prices in April 2008. Controversially, the EU's targets are legally binding and theoretically enforceable in the ECJ (in 2007 the Commission proposed that environmental 'crimes' be punished by equal penalties across the EU). The EU attended the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen December 2009, but the talks ended in disappointment when divisions between developed and developing nations hindered negotiations.

• The EU produces around 22% of global greenhouse gas emissions and creates over two billion tonnes of rubbish a year.
• The cost of compliance with EU environmental legislation for the ten new member states has been estimated at €100 billion. EU funding only covers 4% of this sum.

For

• The threat to the environment is global and should be tackled on an international scale - the EU plays an important role in setting this agenda.
• The EU's commitment to environmental protection encourages other countries to adopt similar measures.
• Environmental policy is one area where there is a great deal of public support for action at a Europe-wide level.

Against

• The cost of EU environmental regulation can undermine the competitiveness of EU businesses.
• The amount of greenhouse gas emissions that firms are allowed to produce under the ETS has been set too high; as a result firms have had little incentive to cut their emissions to meet the EU's wider targets.

?'Even the darkest sceptic has to admit that when it comes to environment policy it makes sense for states to cooperate and do things in common.' - Dr Caroline Jackson MEP, 2003

'Nobody has the foggiest idea how the renewables target will be met.' - Ernest-Antoine Seillière, Head of Business Europe, March 2007