CoR - Local governments profile EU legislation to reach 2030 climate targets

CoR - Local governments profile EU legislation to reach 2030 climate targets

As the EU is engaged in setting up binding targets for reducing CO2 emissions in key sectors such as buildings, small industry, transport, agriculture, waste and forestry, the EU's assembly of local and regional representatives warns: no success is guaranteed without the active and formal involvement of cities and regions. Local and regional authorities hold competencies in key areas such as urban planning, forest and waste management, buildings, agriculture and land use, sectors covered by legislation under discussion: the Effort-Sharing Regulation (ESR) and the land use, land use-change and forestry (LULUCF) Regulation. New legislation is to complement existing provisions under the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) which covers industry and the power sectors only, accounting for 45% of the total of greenhouse gas emissions in the EU. In 2013, ESR and LULUCF accounted for 55% greenhouse gas emissions in the EU. (...)