The Commissioner for Climate Action is a post in the
European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...
. It was created in 2010,
being split from the environmental portfolio to focus on fighting
climate change
Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...
.
The European Union has made a number of moves in regard to climate change. Most notably it signed the
Kyoto Protocol
The 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 global warming is oc ...
in 1998, set up its
Emission Trading Scheme in 2005 and most recently agreed to unilaterally cut its
greenhouse gas emissions
Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from human activities intensify the greenhouse effect. This contributes to climate change. Carbon dioxide (), from burning fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum, oil, and natural gas, is the main cause of climate chan ...
by 20% by 2020.
The current Commissioner for Climate Action is
Wopke Hoekstra, who has succeeded the role after the resignation of
Frans Timmermans
Franciscus Cornelis Gerardus Maria Timmermans (; born 6 May 1961) is a Dutch politician who served as Executive Vice President of the European Commission for the European Green Deal and European Commissioner for Climate Action in the von der ...
. He also acts as Executive
Vice-President of the European Commission
A Vice-President of the European Commission is a member of the European Commission who leads the commission's work in particular focus areas in which multiple European Commissioners participate.
Currently, the European Commission has a total of ...
for the
European Green Deal
The European Green Deal, approved in 2020, is a set of policy initiatives by the European Commission with the overarching aim of making the European Union (EU) climate neutral in 2050. The plan is to review each existing law on its climate meri ...
, and Vice-President for Interinstitutional Relations and Foresight.
List of commissioners
See also
*
European Climate Change Programme
*
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 a ...
*
Climate of Europe
*
Energy policy of the European Union
The energy policy of the European Union focuses on energy security, Sustainable energy, sustainability, and integrating the energy markets of member states. An increasingly important part of it is climate policy. A key energy policy adopted in ...
References
External links
Current Commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete's websiteDG Climate Action website
{{CommissionPortfolios
Climate Action
Climate action (or climate change action) refers to a range of activities, mechanisms, policy instruments, and so forth that aim at reducing the severity of human-induced climate change and its impacts. "More climate action" is a central demand o ...
European Green Deal