Policy Document

Paris Agreement

Policy Document

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Topics: Climate change mitigation

The Paris Agreement. Report of the Conference of the Parties on its twenty-first session, held in Paris from 30 November to 11 December 2015.

The link address is: https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/the-paris-agreement

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Indicator Specification Total greenhouse gas emissions trends and projections in Europe This indicator presents past and projected emissions trends in Europe and assesses the progress of the EU towards its international and internal GHG targets. The EU’s total GHG emissions are shown in the context of the EU’s overall climate targets and disaggregated trends are shown to illustrate the development of emissions covered by the EU Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) and the Effort Sharing Legislation, as well as those from land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF). Emissions from international aviation are included in total GHG emissions and depicted separately, together with the disaggregated trends. In accordance with the UNFCCC Reporting Guidelines, total GHG emissions do not cover emissions from international shipping, net LULUCF emissions and/or removals, and CO 2 emissions from the combustion of biomass (including biofuels in transport). The indicator covers all 27 Member States of the European Union and the UK for historic emissions trends. Future emissions trends (from 2021 onwards) do not include the United Kingdom.

Indicator Specification

Archived

Total greenhouse gas emission trends and projections in Europe This indicator presents past and projected emission trends in Europe and assesses the progress of the EU towards its international and internal GHG targets. The EU’s total GHG emissions are shown in the context of the EU’s overall climate targets and disaggregated trends are shown to illustrate the development of emissions covered by the EU Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) and the Effort Sharing Legislation as well as from land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF). Emissions from international aviation are included in the total GHG emissions and depicted separately, together with the disaggregated trends. In accordance with the UNFCCC Reporting Guidelines, the total GHG emissions do not cover emissions from international shipping, net land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF) emissions and/or removals, and CO 2 emissions from the combustion of biomass (including biofuels in transport). The indicator covers all 27 Member States of the European Union and the UK for historic emission trends, future emission trends (from 2021 onwards) do not include the UK.

Indicator Specification

Archived

Ocean acidification This indicator illustrates the global mean average rate of ocean acidification, quantified by decreases in pH, which is a measure of acidity and is defined here as the hydrogen ion concentration. A decrease in pH value corresponds to an increase in acidity. The observed decrease in ocean pH resulting from increasing concentrations of CO 2 is an important indicator of global change. This indicator provides information on: - trends in ocean acidity measured at the Aloha station; - yearly mean surface sea water pH levels reported on a global scale, based on information from the Copernicus Marine Service (CMEMS), with the estimated long-term decreasing trend.

Indicator Specification

Archived

Ocean acidification This indicator illustrates the global mean average rate of ocean acidification, quantified by decreases in pH, which is a measure of acidity defined here as the hydrogen ion concentration. A decrease in pH value corresponds to an increase in acidity. The observed decrease in ocean pH resulting from increasing concentrations of CO 2 is an important indicator of global change. This indicator provides information on: trends in ocean acidity measured at the Aloha station; yearly mean surface sea water pH levels reported on a global scale based on information from Copernicus Marine Service (CMEMS), with the long-term decreasing trend estimate.

Indicator Specification

Archived

Atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations This indicator shows the observed trends in greenhouse gas concentrations. Greenhouse gases differ in the way they affect the climate system. In order to sum the effects of the individual greenhouse gases and other forcing agents in the atmosphere, the so-called 'greenhouse gas equivalent concentration' has been defined. This is the concentration of CO 2 that would cause the same amount of radiative forcing as a mixture of CO 2 and other forcing agents (greenhouse gases and aerosols). The forcing is expressed here in CO 2- equivalent concentrations, rather than watts per square meter (W/m 2 ), because they are more easily understood by the general public. For a more detailed assessment of radiative forcing expressed in W/m 2 , the reader should refer to IPCC (2013). Global average annual concentrations are presented here. Although greenhouse gases are mainly emitted in the northern hemisphere, the use of global average values is considered justified because the atmospheric lifetime of most greenhouse gases is long compared with the timescales of global atmospheric mixing. This leads to a rather uniform mixture around the globe. The exceptions are ozone and aerosols. However, as described earlier, these gases are less relevant in the long term.

Indicator Specification Changes in fish distribution in European seas This indicator looks at the temporal development of the ratio between the number of Lusitanian and Boreal fish species within ICES Statistical rectangles and ICES divisions.

Indicator Specification

Archived

Atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations This indicator shows the observed trends in greenhouse gas concentrations. Greenhouse gases differ in the way they affect the climate system. In order to sum the effects of the individual greenhouse gasses and other forcing agents in the atmosphere, the so-called 'greenhouse gas equivalent concentration' has been defined. This is the concentration of CO 2 that would cause the same amount of radiative forcing as a mixture of CO 2 and other forcing agents (greenhouse gases and aerosols). The forcing is expressed here in CO 2- equivalent concentrations, rather than watts per square meter (W/m 2 ), because they are more easily understood by the general public. For a more detailed assessment of radiative forcing expressed in W/m 2 , the reader is referred to IPCC (2013). Global average annual concentrations are presented here. Although greenhouse gases are mainly emitted in the northern hemisphere, the use of global average values is considered justified, because the atmospheric lifetime of most greenhouse gases is long compared with the timescales of global atmospheric mixing. This leads to a rather uniform mixture around the globe. The exceptions are ozone and aerosols. However, as described earlier, these gases are less relevant in the long term.

Indicator Specification

Archived

Total greenhouse gas emission trends and projections in Europe The present indicator (CSI010) presents total and sectoral trends of anthropogenic GHG emissions in Europe from 1990 onwards and assesses the progress of the EU, individual Member States and other EEA countries towards their international and internal EU GHG targets. The indicator provides information on emissions from the main anthropogenic GHG sources, distributed by the main emitting sectors and based on IPCC nomenclature. In addition, the indicator shows past and projected GHG emissions in the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) and non-ETS/Effort Sharing Decision (ESD) sectors, in accordance with the EU legal scheme. As a general rule, emissions from international aviation are included in the totals presented in the indicator, consistent with the EU legal scheme ('Domestic scope'). These emissions are not covered by the Kyoto Protocol (KP), in accordance with the UNFCCC guidelines, and therefore they are excluded from the totals under the EU's international reporting of GHG inventories ('International scope'). Unless otherwise mentioned, the indicator does not cover emissions from international shipping. Net land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF) emissions and/or removals, and CO 2 emissions from the combustion of biomass (including biofuels in transport) are not included in national GHG emission totals, according to UNFCCC Reporting Guidelines. The indicator covers all 28 Member States of the European Union. The Member States' geographical coverage of the indicator is consistent with the EU coverage under the Kyoto Protocol. When available, information concerning other EEA member countries is also included. Especially when referring to the second commitment period of the KP, the European aggregates are presented for the 28 Member States and Iceland, since the European Union, its Member States and Iceland have agreed to fulfill their quantified emission limitation and reduction commitments jointly. The indicator covers annual emissions since 1990.

Indicator Specification Atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations This indicator shows the observed trends in greenhouse gas concentrations. Greenhouse gases differ in the way they affect the climate system. In order to sum the effects of the individual greenhouse gasses and other forcing agents in the atmosphere, the so-called ‘greenhouse gas equivalent concentration’ has been defined. This is the concentration of CO 2 that would cause the same amount of radiative forcing as a mixture of CO 2 and other forcing agents (greenhouse gases and aerosols). The forcing is expressed here in CO 2- equivalent concentrations, rather than watts per square meter (W/m 2 ), because they are more easily understood by the general public. For a more detailed assessment of radiative forcing expressed in W/m 2 , the reader is referred to IPCC (2013). Global average annual concentrations are presented here. Although greenhouse gases are mainly emitted in the northern hemisphere, the use of global average values is considered justified, because the atmospheric lifetime of most greenhouse gases is long compared to the timescales of global atmospheric mixing. This leads to a rather uniform mixture around the globe. The exceptions are ozone and aerosols. However, as described earlier, these gases are less relevant, over the long term.

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For references, please go to https://www.eea.europa.eu/policy-documents/paris-agreement or scan the QR code.

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