EU Climate and Energy Package

On 23 January 2008 the Commission presented a proposal for a climate and energy package. The package is the Commission's reply to a call from the European Council in March 2007.

The Climate and Energy Package contains a number of closely connected proposals aiming at ensuring that EU Member States meet targets relating to reducing emissions of greenhouse gases by 20 per cent before 2020, including to ensure a level of 20 per cent renewable energy in the total EU energy consumption before 2020 as well as to increase the proportion of renewable energy in the transport sector by 10 per cent before 2020.

The Climate and Energy Package contains the following proposals for common EU legislation:

• proposed directive on promoting renewable energy sources
• proposed decision on targets for reductions by Member States of greenhouse gas emissions from the sectors not currently subject to allowances
• proposed amendment to the European Union Greenhouse Gas Emission Trading Scheme
• proposed directive on carbon capture and storage (CCS) below ground and a communication on demonstrating CCS

In December 2008, political agreement was achieved at the European Council summit on the Climate and Energy Package, and this was later adopted by the European Parliament.