Abstract
Stavros Dimas, Commissioner for Environment opined that though in recent times, Europe has made considerable progress in cleaning the air that we breathe; air pollution remains a serious problem and continues to damage our health and the environment.
The results of a poll published in March, 2008 by the European Commission show the strong European public opinion in favor of environmental protection: 95 % of the people who were questioned in the European Union (EU) consider environmental protection as an important question. Protection of the environment while assuring the supply of energy for the population is one of the major challenges of the 21th century. Being conscious of these stakes, the European Union emerged as one of the leaders in the global fight against climate change. Environmental and energy issues cannot be treated simply on a national scale. The Union thus acts with respect to the skills of member states, to coordinate national actions and develop more effective and better adapted European initiatives.
What are the challenges faced by EU with respect to energy and environment, and how may they resolve them?
Firstly, we will see that EU is conscious about energy and environmental stakes, has goals related to their protection, and has taken some measures to address issues related to them. We will also examine the divergent interests in the EU which limit the environmental and energy policies.
The conference of heads of state and government in Paris in 1972 opened the way to the implementation of a common policy in environmental protection. Since then, the European policy of the environment evolved, passing gradually from a set of minimal and thematic legislations, to a global and integrated strategy.
It aims at the conservation, protection and improvement of the quality of the environment, the protection of the health of the people, the careful and rational use of natural resources, as well as the implementation of the international plan, and the measures intended to face the regional or global problems of the environment. Europe intervenes in very varied domains with regard to the management of waste, noise pollution, atmospheric pollution, and water pollution, the conservation of nature and biodiversity, and industrial risks.
Tags: Kyoto Protocol, Environment policies of the EU, Energy policies of the EU
