European Climate

The European Climate Change Program (ECCP) launched in the year 2000, with goals on developing energy efficient and cost-effective means of cutting greenhouse gases. Their first program launched in 2000 and lasted until 2004. This initial four year period was just the beginning where the European Climate Change Program under its two main institutions the European Commission and the EU Council of Ministers, researched methods of how they could effectively reduce greenhouse emissions. During the First Program (2000-2004) the European Climate Change Program brought the EU Member States together to begin implementing small scale changes on the community level.

During the European Climate Change First Program, 11 groups were established to tackle the greenhouse gases issue in small segments. With this tactic the ECCP could have multiple groups working with specific issues to keep from the entire program from spreading too thin.

One of the most important initiatives the European Climate Change First Program put forward was the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. This Scheme covered CO2 emissions from “11,500 heavy emitters in the power generation and manufacturing sectors”.

The European Climate Change Program is designed to help EU Member States meet the goals laid out in the Kyoto Protocol. When the Kyoto Protocol came into existence there were only 15 EU Member States, which means only these 15 states are required to meet the Kyoto commitment. The Kyoto Protocol is a legally-binding “burden-sharing agreement” that will have European greenhouse emissions lowered to 8% less than what they recorded at in 1990, by 2012.

The European Climate Change Program has succeeded more than anyone had expected when the Kyoto Protocol first came into place. By the year 2005, the combined emissions, from all 25 of the current European Member States were 8% below the 1990 levels. With the new policies that have and will be coming into effect, the European Climate Change Program predicts that EU Member State emissions will be approximately 9.3% below the 1990 levels.

Whereas the European Climate Change First Program ended in 2005 with an outlook to only the year 2012, the European Climate Change Second Program was developed. The Second Program (ECCPII) will help to insure that all measures that were taken during the Kyoto Protocol will continue as well as adding some more new policies to further reduce greenhouse gases produced by the 25 European Member States.

The European Climate Change Second Program was implemented in October of 2005 and has no defined end date. Whereas implementing these new strategies is the same as forming a new habit, the European Climate Change Program is helping to keep everyone moving forward in this on-going battle against climate change.

Since the fight against climate change is on-going, the European Climate Change Second Program is not only focused on further reduction of greenhouse emissions, they are also exploring methods of economic growth under the Lisbon Strategy. While researching and developing new energy efficient technology the European Commission can easily sell and trade their findings with the rest of the world, creating new forms of economic diversity within its member states.

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