ABSTRACT
This chapter looks more closely at the details of this differentiation of effort between Member States, more specifically in the sectors of the economy not covered by the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS). Despite the wide support for climate action in Europe, there is also a genuine concern about the socioeconomic impacts of the transition to a low-carbon economy. While the EU ETS regulates the greenhouse gas emissions from large fixed installations, the Effort Sharing Decision and its successor, the Effort Sharing Regulation, regulates emissions of the sectors outside the scope of the EU ETS, the so-called “non-ETS sectors.” In the period from 2005–2017, road transport, heating, agriculture, waste and fluorinated gases achieved emission reductions of 11% in contrast to the 26% reduction realised by sectors covered by the EU ETS. The European Council had also suggested introducing flexibility related to the EU ETS.
