CO2 Emissions

Improvement and extension of the EU greenhouse gas emission allowance trading scheme

The European Metalworkers’ Federation (EMF) shares the principal idea of the EU energy package, which was adopted by the European Commission in January 2007. We especially support the aim for a 20% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in 2020 as compared to 1990 levels. Without doubt, climate change is one of the major challenges of the 21st century and we support the European Union when leading the way in CO2 mitigation worldwide. The willingness of the European Union to reduce emissions up to 30% provided that other countries commit themselves to comparable efforts is a commitment to a far-reaching international climate agreement as a follow-up to the Kyoto-protocol.

COP 15 - European metalworkers on the road from Copenhagen

For the European Metalworkers Federation climate change is a dangerous reality which demands a social response at international as well as European, national and regional/local and company levels. We believe that a drive towards new industrial strategies based on low carbon technologies and products can offer opportunities but also challenges for the future of industrial workplaces in Europe.

EFFAT's view on sustainable development

Sustainable development seeks to "meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” in the sense of balance between economic, social and environmental elements. Still, increasingly rapid global changes, from the melting of the icecaps to growing energy and resource demand, are challenging this objective.