The Council of the EU this week adopted three regulations of the Fit for 55, which frames the EU trajectory towards 55% reduction of its CO2 emissions from 1990 levels by 2030 and climate neutrality by 2050:
- The land use, land use change, and forestry (LULUCF) regulation will strengthen the sector's contribution to the EU's overall climate ambition for 2030. Each Member State will have a legally binding national objective for 2030 that will enhance net greenhouse gas reductions, and every Member State must pledge to meet a total for net greenhouse gas emissions and removals from 2026 to 2029.
- The regulation on CO2 emission performance standard for new automobiles and vans will accompany the sector in lowering emissions from road travel, which account for the largest portion of all transportation-related emissions. CO2 emissions of new automobiles and new vans will have to be reduced by respectively 55% and 50% from 2030 to 2034 in comparison to 2021 levels, and no new CO2-emitting automobiles and vans on the market starting from 2035.
- The Effort Sharing Regulation sets goals for each Member State to meet carbon reduction targets by 2030.
These three texts have now been officially adopted by the co-legislators and will enter into force after publication in the Official Journal in the upcoming weeks.
On 29 March, the Council and Parliament struck a provisional agreement to increase the proportion of renewable energy in the EU's total energy consumption to 42.5% by 2030, with an additional 2.5% indicative top-up that would allow for a 45% target. To achieve this common goal, each Member State will provide a contribution. It will now be necessary for both institutions to approve this provisional political agreement before it can enter into force.
Aligned with the objectives set by the Fit for 55 regulations, the OCEAN project, which is co-financed by the EU and coordinated by the EOC EU Office, will develop a Carbon Footprint Measurement Tool for National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and other sport organisations, as well as NOCs’ Carbon Footprint Reduction Strategies.