The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty adopted at COP21 - the United Nations Climate Change Conference - in 2015.
Its central aim is to limit global warming to well below 2°C, ideally 1.5°C, compared to pre-industrial levels.
It brings together nearly all countries in a shared commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The EU ratified the Paris Agreement in 2016, placing it at the heart of its climate policy.

Saving our Planet: the Paris Agreement

Fuel Station, renewable E85 fuel , Fit for 55..

Low emission zone signals for vehicles entering the city. Reduction of CO2 gas emissions

EP plenary session -  CO2 emission performance standards for new heavy-duty vehicles  - Report: Bas Eickhout (A8-0354/2018)

EP plenary session - Emission performance standards for new passenger cars and for new light commercial vehicles - Report:Miriam Dalli

Plenary session

Damiano ZOFFOLI in plenary session - CO2 emissions from and fuel consumption of new heavy-duty vehicles

EPRS Policy Roundtable ' Negative  greenhouse gas emission technologies: Potential, limitations and risks '

Sustainable mobility. Clean transport system. Low emission mobility.Clean alternative vehicule.

Plenary session Week 24 2017 in Strasbourg - Energy efficiency labelling - Compensation for wrongly labelled energy-related products - Binding annual greenhouse gas emission reductions to meet commitments under the Paris Agreement

Plenary session in Strasbourg - Week 27 2016. Emission limits for non-road mobile machinery Report: Elisabetta Gardini

Plenary session week 9 2014 - 2020 target to reduce CO2 emissions from new passenger cars

Exhaust pipe testing in a research center

Bus equipped with natural gas

EP Plenary session - The crisis facing the EU’s automotive industry, potential plant closures and the need to enhance competitiveness and maintain jobs in Europe

The European Parliament has passed new rules to make it easier to top up green vehicles.      
      
The EU wants to help create a network of electric recharging and hydrogen refuelling points that are as practical and accessible as petrol stations.      
      
Meanwhile, airports and big ports will have to provide electricity to planes and ships.     
      
The rules are part of Fit for 55 measures to cut greenhouse gas emissions and build a carbon-neutral EU.

Expanding the EU’s alternative fuels infrastructure

Phones, computers, electric cars… they all use batteries. And demand is increasing rapidly.    
 
The European Parliament has approved new rules to reduce the impact on the environment, ensuring minimum standards for recycling batteries and their component materials.

Circular economy: getting more life from batteries

As the EU moves towards net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, the European Parliament wants to ensure no one is left behind.   
    
That is why MEPs have approved an ambitious Social Climate Fund, designed to support vulnerable households, small businesses and transport users.      
      
The fund will be financed by the Emissions Trading System, which makes big polluters pay for the damage they cause.    
          
Discover how the fund will work in our short Q&A.

Energy transition: A fund to support the most vulnerable

The EU wants to make sure that zero-emission cars and vans are the norm by 2050.   
    
The European Parliament has taken action, pushing to phase out fossil-fueled vehicles and replace them with greener models.    
    
Discover how in our short Q&A animation.

Cutting CO2 emissions with cleaner cars: new EU rules

What if you could easily get from home to work using two different bikes and a train? What if such a trip was simple and hassle-free? This is already a reality in the Netherlands with train-bike schemes at many railway stations. The European Parliament is calling for the rollout of an EU Cycling Strategy to encourage more people to use this healthy, quiet and carbon neutral mode of transport.

Towards an EU Cycling Strategy

Fluorinated gases (F-gases) are potent greenhouse gases (GHGs), with a global warming potential (GWP) up to 25 000 times higher than that of CO2. Used in a range of appliances – such as refrigerators, air conditioners, foams and fire extinguishers – F-gas emissions occur throughout appliances' life cycles. Today, F-gas emissions amount to 2.5 % of the EU's total GHG emissions. The current F-gas Regulation is one of the EU's main instruments to fight F-gas emissions, contributing to the EU's wider efforts to combat climate change by introducing an EU-wide phase-down scheme for hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). In light of the EU's increased climate ambition, the Commission decided to review the F-gas Regulation, as one of the reforms under the 'fit-for-55' package. This infoclip illustrates everyday products that contain F-gases such as refrigerators, air conditioners, foams and fire extinguishers.

Infoclip: Fluorinated greenhouse gases (F-gases)

MEPs are due to finalise measures to speed the green transition and ensure the EU becomes carbon-neutral by 2050.  
 
Europe’s climate goals will be high on Parliament’s agenda in the first half of 2023, with members set to sign off on a ban on polluting vehicles and a tougher emissions trading system.   
 
New rules to boost green fuels and increase energy efficiency will be put to the vote. 
  
Parliament is also set to decide on a common framework for AI technology alongside measures to ensure the digital sector is fairer and safer for all.

Climate goals, AI and the digital economy – coming up in Parliament in 2023

The earth is sick and the clock is ticking. The EU is working on all fronts to repair the damage and preserve the environment: air quality, waste management, protection of biodiversity... Much still needs to be done, and the EU is leading the way.

How the EU is fighting climate change

This infoclip shows e-car and e-motorbike sharing in Madrid, Spain. Many European companies have developed sharing systems that can be accessed through smartphone apps. E-car or e-motorbike sharing systems allow everyone to travel with low emission impact and it can be expected that those sharing systems will expand over the years in the EU.

Infoclip: Car and motorbike sharing

Images from the Swedish manufacture site of Volvo testing emission results of new engines and providing a glimpse into its construction chain and final truck assembling in Göteborg. Volvo is testing the Vehicle Energy Consumption Calculation Tool (VECTO). A tool aiming at reducing greenhouse gas emissions by measuring CO2 emissions and fuel consumption of high duty vehicles for specific loads, fuels and mission profiles based on input data.

Infoclip: CO2 trucks, VECTO and bio gas station vehicle energy consumption calculation tool (VECTO)

The European Parliament is promoting the use of renewable energy sources, with new ambitious targets driving the EU towards its climate change goals. The EU wants to keep citizens at the centre of the energy transition, by protecting self-consumers, promoting energy efficiency first and boosting cleaner transport.

New EU targets on renewable energy

Parliament voted to forbid the sale of single-use plastic. It also discussed changes to road use charges in the EU, announced the winner of the 2018 Sakharov Prize, and condemned the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Members also voted to curb the use of antibiotics in farming to fight against antimicrobial resistance.

From plastics to the Sakharov Prize: 5 numbers from Strasbourg

In the wake of the car emissions scandal, Parliament is changing the rules for vehicle approval and market surveillance tests. This means consumers can trust that the cars they buy meet environmental and safety standards.

Putting the brakes on car emissions

After Paris and Marrakesh, Bonn is welcoming the COP23 on climate change. MEPs call to set up a zero emission strategy and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature rise.

COP23: a step further

Cars, road and city traffic in the centre of Paris and ring road.

Infoclip: Road and city traffic in Paris

The European Union has set ambitious targets in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. European lawmakers are poring through the EU’s largest climate tool, the Effort Sharing Regulation (ESR). This law covers some 60% of the EU’s greenhouse gases.

Effort sharing: driving Europe's ambitious climate goals

Coming up in Strasbourg: pension gap, energy labelling, glyphosate, climate change and Western Balkans.

Coming up in Strasbourg: from pension gap to Western Balkans

Meeting of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) on&nbsp;annual greenhouse gas emission reductions, in the EP in Brussels. Vote and statement by Gerben-Jan GERBRANDY (ALDE, NL), rapporteur

Effort sharing regulation: Binding annual greenhouse gas emission reductions to meet commitments under the Paris Agreement: extracts from the vote and statement by Gerben-Jan GERBRANDY (ALDE, NL), rapporteur

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