The European Union, Iceland and Norway agree to deepen their cooperation in climate action

Climate change is a global threat and demands global action, the more countries join forces, the bigger the chances we can master this major challenge of our generation. The European Union, Iceland and Norway today agreed to extend their cooperation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels.

High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Federica Mogherini said: “The climate crisis knows no borders. That’s why we as the European Union, along with our closest partners, will continue to lead the global work to combat it. Only by working together can we live up to our responsibilities to promote peace and stability, protect our planet, and ensure that future generations do not pay the highest price.”

Commissioner for Climate Action and energy Miguel Arias Cañete said:”I welcome today’s decision by the EEA Joint Committee. The EU, Iceland and Norway have again proven that cooperation across borders to combat climate change is not only necessary but also feasible, building on the successful cooperation for over ten years in the EU Emissions Trading System.”

Iceland and Norway participate in the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) since 2008. In the next decade, the EU, Norway and Iceland will intensify their climate cooperation by also aligning their actions to reduce emissions from sectors outside the EU ETS, namely agriculture, transport, waste management and buildings; and to enhance benefits of carbon removals from land use and forestry. Today’s agreement is an important step to deliver collectively on our respective commitments under the Paris Agreement on climate change.

The agreement is a result of close collaboration between the EU, Iceland and Norway. Today’s decision reconfirms the political commitment and real delivery on the ground by the EU, Iceland and Norway of their commitments under the Paris Agreement and the climate parts of the EU’s 2030 climate and energy framework.

Background

The climate action cooperation is taking place under the European Economic Area (EEA) Agreement, under which the EEA Joint Committee today decided to incorporate two key pieces of EU legislation.

Iceland and Norway will apply the following EU climate laws:

Effort Sharing Regulation: Iceland and Norway commit to binding annual greenhouse gas emission targets for the period 2021–2030 for those sectors of the economy that fall outside the scope of the EU Emissions Trading System, namely the agriculture, transport, waste and building sectors. They will have the same obligations and flexibilities as EU Member States, to allow for a fair and cost-efficient achievement of their targets.
Regulation on Land, Land-Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF): Iceland and Norway will ensure that greenhouse gas emissions from land use, land use change and forestry are balanced by at least an accounted equivalent removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in the period 2021–2030, the so called ‘no-debit’ rule. The same obligations and accounting rules will apply as in EU Member States.

Iceland and Norway also intend to develop a national climate plan describing their existing and planned policies and measures and how they intend to meet the requirements of the Effort Sharing and LULUCF Regulations. Iceland and Norway will also develop a plan including the establishment of benchmarks used for forestry accounts.

Next Steps:

The next step is the approval by the national parliament of Iceland and enforcement of the rules by the EU, Iceland and Norway, which will also require robust monitoring and reporting to track progress.

Iceland and Norway will also continue to apply the Directive underpinning the EU ETS. Work on incorporating changes to the EU ETS in phase four into the EEA Agreement is underway.

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Details

Publication date: 25 October 2019
Author: Directorate-General for Climate Action