Working together to halt climate change at European and international level

The Earth is heating up

The average global temperature is rising and the climate is changing everywhere. In fact, climate change appears to be accelerating. This has major consequences – such as more heatwaves and flooding – for humans and the natural environment. The Netherlands, a coastal delta, is particularly vulnerable. 

Paris Agreement aims to limit global warming

The Paris Agreement sets out actions to limit the increase in average global temperature. It was signed by 195 countries in 2016. Its overarching goal is to limit ‘the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels’ and preferably to 1.5°C. Without the Paris Agreement, the global average temperature would increase by 3.5 to 4 degrees Celsius, posing a major threat to life on Earth.

EU: climate neutral by 2050

To meet their commitments under the Paris Agreement, the EU member states have agreed that the EU will be climate neutral by 2050. They have also committed to reducing their emissions by 55% by 2030, relative to 1990 levels. Member states have to draft 5-year climate plans, setting out how they will contribute towards the EU goals.

EU climate legislation

The EU has introduced several measures to combat global warming. This includes instruments that set a cap on companies’ emissions:

• The EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) requires big companies in sectors like aviation, maritime shipping and industry to pay for their emissions. The higher a company’s greenhouse gas emissions and the longer it takes to reduce them, the more they have to pay. 
• The Effort Sharing Regulation is an EU law that sets emission caps for sectors that do not fall under the EU ETS, such as agriculture and the built environment. EU member states each have their own national targets per sector. 
• The LULUCH regulation encourages land management practices that enable land to absorb more CO2 than it releases. The regulation applies to nature areas, all types of farmland and forests. 
• Euro emission standards for road vehicles.

The Netherlands is contributing to global goals

The CO₂ emissions attributable to the average person in the Netherlands are almost twice that of people in other countries. The Dutch government is committed to reducing these emissions and the climate plan sets out how it wants to do this (in Dutch). One approach, for instance, is to invest in green growth (in Dutch).