EU CLIMATE POLICIES PROGRAMME

Mission

The EU Climate Policies Programme aims to secure pan-European and in-country policy frameworks and political conditions that ensure European climate leadership. We use targeted grants and help co-ordinate other organisations to maximise our collective influence on European policy.

What we do

The Programme’s activities focus on ensuring that the EU commits to reducing CO¬¬¬¬¬2 emissions by at least 30% domestically by 2020, and that Member States deliver practical policies to that effect.

2010 will see a new European Commission. With negotiations the EU budget forthcoming, we will seek to maximise the role of European financing in enabling a low carbon transition, and accelerate policy ideas in (and between) key country finance ministries for innovative financing pathways.

Case study: European Climate Package

The European Climate Package adopted at the end of 2008 was crucial at the time, and set a benchmark for the rest of the world. The EU Climate Policies team helped to ensure that key elements of the package were not diluted by vested interests, including: legally binding targets with sanction mechanisms, the confirmation of the 30% target, the EU-wide cap-setting, and the principle of the auctioning of allowances in the Emissions Trading System (ETS).

One of our key targets was ensuring that France, then holder of the EU Presidency, would push for a suitable package and reach a deal before the end of the year. Together with partners such as the WWF, the ECF supported a series of adverts across European media and helped write opinion pieces advocating a positive approach.

We supported a grassroots campaign led by the Climate Action Network Europe, called Time To Lead, to support Members of the European Parliament and EU governments in their efforts.

Clearly, our coordinated activities helped maintain a high level of ambition and balance in an intense policy debate.