The Commissioner for Climate Action is a post in the
European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...
. It was created in 2010,
being split from the environmental portfolio to focus on fighting
climate change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...
.
The European Union has made a number of moves in regard to climate change. Most notably it signed the
Kyoto Protocol
The Kyoto Protocol was an international treaty which extended the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that commits state parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, based on the scientific consensus that (par ...
in 1998, set up its
Emission Trading Scheme
Emission trading (ETS) for carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases (GHG) is a form of carbon pricing; also known as cap and trade (CAT) or carbon pricing. It is an approach to limit climate change by creating a market with limit ...
in 2005 and is currently agreeing to unilaterally cut its
greenhouse gas emissions
Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and ...
by 20% by 2020.
List of commissioners
See also
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European Climate Change Programme
The European Climate Change Programme (ECCP) was launched in June 2000 by the European Union's European Commission, with the purpose of avoiding dangerous climate change.
The goal of the ECCP is to identify, develop and implement all the necess ...
*
Directorate-General for Climate Action (European Commission)
The Directorate-General for Climate Action (DG CLIMA), est. 2010, is a Directorate-General of the European Commission responsible for EU's international negotiations on climate, development and implementation of the EU Emissions Trading System
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Climate of Europe
Europe is generally characterized by a temperate climate. Most of Western Europe has an Oceanic climate, in the Köppen climate classification, featuring cool to warm summers and cool winters with frequent overcast skies. Southern Europe has a di ...
*
Energy policy of the European Union
References
External links
Current Commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete's websiteDG Climate Action website
{{CommissionPortfolios
Climate Action
Climate change mitigation is action to limit climate change by reducing emissions of greenhouse gases or removing those gases from the atmosphere. The recent rise in global average temperature is mostly caused by emissions from fossil fuels bu ...
European Green Deal