Saving the environment for present and future generations is one of the major challenges of the 21st century.
This issue is a priority of the political agenda at several levels as are sustainable development strategies for companies. Aware of the environmental challenge and of the expectations that it raises, the European Union has become a world leader in matters of climate change. An “energy-climate package” intended to implement a common policy for energy and the fight against climate change was adopted in December 2008. It expects to be both exemplary and ambitious. This legislative package should enable the EU to achieve its ambitious “3 times 20” objectives by 2020: A reduction of 20% in greenhouse gas emissions, a 20% improvement in energy efficiency and a 20% share of renewable energies in EU energy consumption.
In addition to this strictly legislative approach, the Commission recommended a more strategic approach in the 6th Environment Action Programme in which it set EU environmental targets for the period from 22 July 2002 through 21 July 2012 and described the measures which must be taken to achieve them. The programme describes four areas of action: the fight against global warming, the protection of nature and biodiversity, guaranteed quality of the environment and its impact on health, and the management of natural resources and waste. At stake for the European Union, as underscored by the mid-term review of the Programme in May 2006, is the importance of reconciling energy efficiency and competitiveness.
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