LIFE and Climate Change Mitigation
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LIFE and Climate change mitigation LIFE Environment Environment & Climate Action LIFE ENVIRONMENT | LIFE AND CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION EUROPEAN COMMISSION ENVIRONMENT DIRECTORATE-GENERAL LIFE (“The Financial Instrument for the Environment”) is a programme launched by the European Commission and coordinated by the Environment Directorate-General (LIFE Units - E.3. and E.4.). The contents of the publication “LIFE and Climate change mitigation” do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the institutions of the European Union. Authors: Gabriella Camarsa (Environment expert), Justin Toland, Tim Hudson, Stephen Nottingham, Wendy Jones, Jon Eldridge, Morwenna Severon (ASTRALE GEIE-AEIDL), Chris Rose, Jan Sliva (ASTRALE GEIE-AEIDL), Hans Joosten (Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Universitaet Greifswald, Germany), Christophe Thévignot (ASTRALE GEIE- AEIDL, Communications Team Coordinator). Managing Editor: Hervé Martin (European Commission, Environ- ment DG, LIFE E.4). LIFE Focus series coordination: Simon Goss (LIFE Communications Coordinator), Valerie O’Brien (Environment DG, Publications Coordinator). Technical assistance: Agnese Roccato, Pekka Hännin- en, Pavlos Doikos, Katja Lähdesmäki, Inga Racinska, Claudia Pfirrmann, Aixa Sopena (ASTRALE GEIE). The following people also worked on this issue: Adriana Galunic (DG Climate Action, Policy Officer - Climate Finance and Deforestation), Mette Quinn (DG Climate Action, Deputy Head of Unit - Climate Finance and Deforestation), Artur Runge-Metzger (DG Climate Action, Director of International and Climate Strategy Direc- torate) Trees Robijns (Policy Officer, BirdLife Europe), Antonia Andúgar Miñarro (Senior Policy Advisor, Copa- Cogeca), Izabela Madalinska, Santiago Urquijo-Zamora (Environment DG, LIFE Environment Unit). Production: Monique Braem (ASTRALE GEIE-AEIDL). Graphic design: Daniel Renders, Anita Cortés (ASTRALE GEIE-AEIDL). Photos database: Sophie Brynart (ASTRALE GEIE-AEIDL). Acknowledgements: Thanks to all LIFE project beneficiaries who contributed comments, photos and other useful material for this report. Photos: Unless otherwise specified; photos are from the respective projects. For reproduction or use of these photos, permis- sion must be sought directly from the copyright holders. Cover photo: Daniel Renders (ASTRALE GEIE-AEIDL). HOW TO OBTAIN EU PUBLICATIONS Free publications: • via EU Bookshop (http://bookshop.europa.eu); • at the European Commission’s representations or delegations. You can obtain their contact details on the Internet (http://ec.europa.eu) or by sending a fax to +352 2929-42758. Priced publications: • via EU Bookshop (http://bookshop.europa.eu). Priced subscriptions (e.g. annual series of the Official Journal of the European Union and reports of cases before the Court of Justice of the European Union): • via one of the sales agents of the Publications Office of the European Union (http://publications.europa.eu/ others/agents/index_en.htm). Europe Direct is a service to help you find answers to your questions about the European Union. Freephone number (*): 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (*) Certain mobile telephone operators do not allow access to 00 800 numbers or these calls may be billed. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2015 ISBN 978-92-79-43945-2 ISSN 2314-9329 doi:10.2779/59738 © European Union, 2015 Reuse authorised. LIFE ENVIRONMENT | LIFE AND CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION Foreword Photo: European Commission limate change is one of the major global challenges. Science has shown that recent Miguel Arias Cañete EU Commissioner for Cclimate changes have had widespread impacts on human and natural systems. The Eu- Climate Action and Energy ropean Union is at the forefront of global efforts to address this challenge. The transition to a low-carbon society is an essential underpinning of Europe 2020 – Europe’s growth strategy. At the heart of the flagship initiative “resource-efficient Europe” is the 2050 Roadmap for moving to a competitive low-carbon economy. The EU is also contributing pro- actively to the conclusion of an ambitious global climate agreement in 2015. Most recently, EU leaders agreed on a new integrated climate change and energy framework for 2030. This sets more stringent targets for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, increased use of renewables and greater energy-efficiency. These will be combined with a revision of the EU Emissions Trading System and more reliable and transparent governance to ensure climate change mitigation targets are met. With regards to funding, 20% of the EU budget for 2014-2020 is dedicated to climate action. This includes €864 million that the new LIFE sub-programme for Climate Action will make avail- able over seven years for projects targeting both mitigation and adaptation efforts. Such funding streams will be supported by new collaborative initiatives with the European In- vestment Bank, such as the Private Finance for Energy Efficiency (PF4EE), using public money to leverage significant private investment in favour of climate action. Since 1992, the LIFE programme has mobilised more than €600 million in favour of climate change mitigation. As this publication shows, in so doing LIFE has already contributed to the shift towards a resource efficient, low-carbon and climate-resilient economy by demonstrating effective, cost effective and inclusive ways of mitigating the effects of climate change across a range of key sectors, including energy, agriculture, transport and enterprise. One of LIFE’s particular strengths is its ability to support practical and replicable solutions de- veloped at local level, whether the individual municipality or the individual farm. The new LIFE Climate Action sub-programme seeks to build on this, increasing the public and private sector’s capacity to integrate and mainstream climate objectives into everyday practice, as well as sup- porting better climate governance at all levels. It is clear that the LIFE programme has been, and will continue to be, an important source of funding for actions that help us achieve the goal of creating a resilient and low-emission energy union with a forward-looking climate change policy. 1 LIFE ENVIRONMENT | LIFE AND CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION CONTENTS Foreword ..........................................................................1 TRANSPORT 44 INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................3 Mitigating climate change: Transport and climate change mitigation .......................44 the EU’s 2030 policy perspective ............................................3 Going greener aboard Gothenburg’s LIFE and climate change mitigation ......................................6 rapid-charge Hyper Bus .............................................................53 Meeting mitigation challenges: DG CLIMA’s perspective .............................................................12 Meeting mitigation challenges: AGRICULTURE & FORESTRY an NGO perspective .....................................................................14 56 LIFE’s role in the transition to low-emission LIFE and farm-based climate action ..................................56 agriculture .........................................................................................15 AgriClimateChange: demonstrating LIFE’s climate action potential ..............................................................................65 local AND Involving farmers in climate action ....................................66 NATIONAL ACTION 16 Integrating local and regional levels into climate peatlands action ...................................................................................................16 & WETLANDS 68 Greek city demonstrates local climate change mitigation model ..........................................................25 Restoring key habitats as carbon sinks ............................68 Promoting rewetting for mitigation ....................................74 ENERGY 28 ENTERPRISE 76 Renewable energy and energy-efficiency .......................28 Bioenergy production helps LIFE helps businesses mitigate climate change ..........76 conserve grasslands ....................................................................41 ClimaBiz – innovative, climate-wise banking for businesses .................................................................................81 Project list .................................................................... 83 Available LIFE Environment publications .......... 89 2 LIFE ENVIRONMENT | LIFE AND CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION INTRODUCTION Mitigating climate change: CONTENTS the EU’s 2030 policy perspective Climate change, and action to address it, is a key priority for the EU, and in particular the Juncker Commission. Photo: Theodore Scott Renewable energy will play a key role in the transition towards a competitive, secure and sustainable energy system resident Juncker has stated that: “We owe it The 2020 package Pto future generations to limit the impact of climate change and to keep energy affordable – by The European Union’s 2020 Climate and Energy using more energy from renewable sources and be- Package1 sets binding national targets for reducing coming more energy efficient.” GHG emissions by 20% (compared to 1990 levels), for raising the share of renewable energy used by Such commitments to EU citizens are to be delivered 20%, and for a 20% improvement in energy-effi- through a new integrated EU policy framework on ciency. The 20-20-20 targets aim to combat cli- climate action, which should lead to