EU ENVIRONMENTAL LEGISLATION

EU environmental policies and legislation protect natural habitats, keep air and water clean, ensure proper waste disposal, improve knowledge about toxic chemicals and help businesses move toward a sustainable economy.

The following is a list of EU Environment and Climate Change related legislation documents and weblinks that are currently available on Lean Business Ireland.

Renewable energy – Renewable Energy Road Map [archived]
Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament - Renewable energy road map - Renewable energies in the 21st century: building a more sustainable future

The Renewable Energy Road Map assesses the share of renewable energy in the energy mix and the progress made in this area. It also includes the target of producing 20% of total EU energy consumption from renewable energy sources by 2020, as well as measures for promoting renewable energy sources in the electricity, biofuels and heating and cooling sectors.

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Response to natural or man-made disasters
Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on reinforcing the Union's disaster response capacity

Faced with the increasing number of natural and man-made disasters in the world, the European Union must equip itself with faster and more effective means of management and response.

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Restrictions on the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment
Directive 2011/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2011 on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment Text with EEA relevance

The legislation updates Directive 2002/95/EC which restricts the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) by extending protection from dangerous chemicals, such as lead, mercury and cadmium, to more electrical appliances. The ban now applies to all EEE and to cables and spare parts.

The ban will be applied in phases for certain products. It takes effect on 22 July 2014 for monitoring and control devices and medical devices, on 22 July 2016 for in vitro medical devices and on 22 July 2017 for industrial control appliances.

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Road & air transport – Aviation and climate change [archived]
Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social committee and the Committee of the Regions - Reducing the Climate Change Impact of Aviation

Analysis by the Commission of the available options for reducing the impact of the air transport sector on climate change. In addition to pursuing the possibilities that exist in the fields of research, air traffic management and energy taxation, the Commission proposes including the air transport sector in the Community Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme.

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Road & air transport – Charging of heavy goods vehicles: Eurovignette Directive
Directive 1999/62/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 June 1999 on the charging of heavy goods vehicles for the use of certain infrastructures

It replaces earlier legislation – Directive 93/89/EEC – which had been annulled by the European Court of Justice in 1995. It harmonises the conditions under which national authorities may apply taxes, tolls and user charges on goods carried by road.

KEY POINTS

  • Financial charges initially only applied to vehicles with a maximum gross laden weight of 12 tonnes. From 2012, this was extended to vehicles over 3.5 tonnes.
  • They may be levied on motorways, bridges, tunnels, mountain passes and certain other categories of roads.
  • Charges may not discriminate between the haulier’s nationality or the vehicle’s origin or destination.
  • Mandatory controls at internal EU borders are forbidden.
  • Charges may vary depending on emissions produced or the time the road infrastructure is used.
  • National authorities may levy other taxes in specific circumstances, such as registration, abnormal loads and parking or to avoid congestion.
  • Charges do not apply to vehicles registered in the Canaries, Ceuta and Melilla, the Azores or Madeira operating in those territories or between them and Spain and Portugal.

Directive 2003/96/EC sets minimum tax levels for all motor fuels. Countries with road user charges may apply a reduced rate for gas oil used by those vehicles.

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Road & air transport – Clean Sky [archived]
Council Regulation (EC) No 71/2007 of 20 December 2007 setting up the Clean Sky Joint Undertaking

The "Clean Sky” Joint Technology Initiative (JTI) aims to create a private/public research partnership at European level in the field of aviation to develop the technologies necessary for a clean, innovative and competitive system of air transport.

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Road & air transport – Cleaner fuels for road transport
Directive 2009/30/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 amending Directive 98/70/EC as regards the specification of petrol, diesel and gas-oil and introducing a mechanism to monitor and reduce greenhouse gas emissions and amending Council Directive 1999/32/EC as regards the specification of fuel used by inland waterway vessels and repealing Directive 93/12/EEC

It revises the fuel quality directive (Directive 98/70/EC). It amends a range of elements, including fuel specifications, and introduces a mechanism aimed to monitor and reduce greenhouse gas emissions and ensure the sustainability of biofuels.

KEY POINTS

  • The law requires fuel suppliers to report and reduce the life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of energy supplied for road transport. The goal is a reduction of life cycle greenhouse gas emissions by 6 % (or up to 10 % if the EU country chooses) per unit of energy from fuel supplied by December 2020.
  • Biofuels should be produced sustainably. In order for a biofuel to count towards the greenhouse gas reductions in this directive, it must fulfil the sustainability criteria, which require biofuels to not be produced on land with high biodiversity value, or to be made from materials with high carbon stock.
  • Harmonisation of the rules for fuels, setting technical specifications on health and environmental grounds, in particular reducing the sulphur content of diesel and petrol to 10 mg/kg max.
  • The directive facilitates the blending of bio components in fuel (for example, up to 10 % ethanol in petrol), EU countries must ensure that petrol and diesel placed on the market should comply with the requirements set out in Annex I and Annex II to this directive respectively.
  • The law requires appropriate information to be given to consumers concerning the biofuel content of petrol and diesel.
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Road & air transport – Framework for creation of the Single European Sky (SES)
Regulation (EC) No 549/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 March 2004 laying down the framework for the creation of the single European sky (the framework Regulation)

This regulation forms part of a package of legislation on air traffic management designed to create a single European sky by 31 December 2004. The objective of the single European sky is to ensure an optimum use of European airspace to meet the requirements of all airspace users.

The Single European Sky package consists of this framework regulation plus three technical regulations on the provision of air navigation services , organisation and use of the airspace and the interoperability of the European air traffic management network. These regulations are designed, in particular, to improve and reinforce safety and to restructure the airspace on the basis of traffic instead of national frontiers.

The objective of this regulation is to enhance current safety standards and overall efficiency for general air traffic in Europe, to optimise capacity meeting the requirements of all airspace users and to minimise delays.

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