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.

Road vehicles – Reduction in CO2 emissions of new passenger cars
Regulation (EC) No 443/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 setting emission performance standards for new passenger cars as part of the Community's integrated approach to reduce CO 2 emissions from light-duty vehicles

It sets standards for new passenger cars regarding their carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The current limit is set as 130 grams of CO2 emitted per kilometre. The limit will reduce to 95 grams of CO2/km by the year 2021.

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Road vehicles – Reduction of carbon dioxide emissions from light commercial vehicles
Regulation (EU) No 510/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2011 setting emission performance standards for new light commercial vehicles as part of the Union's integrated approach to reduce CO 2 emissions from light-duty vehicles

This Regulation establishes performance requirements for carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from new light commercial vehicles.

The average level of CO2 emissions from these vehicles must not exceed 175 grams of CO2 per kilometre as from 2017 (the requirement will be introduced gradually as from 2014). From 2020, the level is not to exceed 147 grams of CO2 per kilometre.

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Road vehicles -Information on the fuel consumption and CO? emissions of new cars
Directive 1999/94/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 1999 relating to the availability of consumer information on fuel economy and CO2 emissions in respect of the marketing of new passenger cars

To help consumers choose vehicles with low fuel consumption, the European Union requires dealers in new passenger cars to provide potential buyers with useful information on these vehicles’ fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. This information must be displayed on the car’s label, on posters and other promotional material, and in specific guides.

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Safe waste shipments within the EU and with non-EU countries
Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2006 on shipments of waste

It lays down rules for controlling waste shipments in order to improve environmental protection.

It also incorporates the provisions of the Basel Convention and the revision of the OECD’s 2001 decision on the control of transboundary movements of wastes destined for recovery operations (i.e. where a waste is processed to recover a usable product or converted into a fuel) in EU law.

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Safer detergents for European consumers
Regulation (EC) No 648/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 March 2004 on detergents

Detergents* can contain ingredients — surfactants* — that make them clean more efficiently but may damage water quality when released into the natural environment. As such, their use must be carefully controlled.

The regulation establishes common rules to enable detergents and surfactants to be sold and used across the EU, while providing a high degree of protection to the environment and human health.

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Safety of offshore oil and gas operations
Directive 2013/30/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 June 2013 on safety of offshore oil and gas operations and amending Directive 2004/35/EC

Offshore oil and gas accidents are a constant possibility. The regulation establishes minimum safety requirements to prevent them and to limit their consequences for the marine environment and coastal economies if they do occur.

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Secure & sustainable energy – Demonstration of the capture and storage of CO2 [archived]
Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions - Supporting early demonstration of sustainable power generation from fossil fuels

The Commission presents the financial stakes and a European initiative for an early demonstration of the capture and storage of CO2.

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Secure & sustainable energy – An Energy Policy for Europe [archived]
Communication from the Commission to the European Council and the European Parliament - an energy policy for Europe

This Communication, a strategic review of the European energy situation, introduces a complete set of European Energy Policy measures (the ‘energy’ package).

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