As the UN climate change conference (COP25) gets underway in Spain's capital Madrid and a new leadership prepares to take over the executive branch of the European Union, pressure is on the EU to take a strong stand for what is seen as a crucial year for the environment.

Ursula von der Leyen, who's taking office as president of the European Commission on 1st December, has made fighting climate change one of her priorities and announced she plans to make the EU "the world's first climate-neutral continent" by 2050.

Her new European Green Deal is expected by December 11 and she has promised to deliver it within 100 days. So, how is the EU planning to tackle climate change?

Emissions trading and greenhouse gases

Von der Leyen has announced she wants to reduce carbon emissions by 55 percent by 2030, raising the current agreed goals by ten percent.

The EU-wide emission trading scheme (ETS), the world's first major carbon market introduced in 2005, was set up to restrict the volume of greenhouse gases emitted by certain industries and has led to higher costs for polluters.

While the 2020 package set national greenhouse gas emissions to be cut by 20 percent, the target for 2030 is to cut emissions by at least 40 percent, introducing new carbon and emission taxes that will target polluting foreign firms, in compliance with World Trade Organisation rules.

Coal-fired power

The European Investment Bank (EIB) announced earlier this month its decision to drop fossil fuel projects funding at the end of 2021. Key EU countries have also set out goals for eliminating coal-fired power stations.

According to the new Green Deal, a Just Transition Fund will be offering substantial financial aid to EU member states which struggle to transition away from fossil fuels to support their conversion towards clean industries and green energy sources.

Renewable energy

The EU has a coherent strategy for integrating renewable energy into its networks and aims to have at least 32 percent of final energy consumption coming from renewable energy, a target that was originally up to 27 percent and was then revised in 2018.

Circular economy

The European Commission has said that the EU will be "at the forefront of the changes in the global finance industry", taking the lead in the transition that will transform the way "products are designed, produced, used and recycled in the EU".

It has developed a circular economy action plan that encourages sustainable financial investments and encourages economic growth through "new ways of producing and consuming" that will also create new investment opportunities and jobs.

Reducing CO2 emissions from vehicles

According to the Commission, "cars are responsible for around 12 percent of total EU emissions of carbon dioxide". In April this year, the EU Parliament has approved a new regulation setting CO2 emission performance standards for new passenger cars and new vans as of 1 January 2020.

Manufacturers will have to pay for emissions that exceed these standards.

Sustainable buildings

The EU is committed to bringing buildings into the circular economy and has developed a new EU-wide assessment framework to assess the environmental performance in the built environment. The plan is to transform the built environment into "a regenerative economic system in which resource and energy consumption are minimized".

According to the new targets, old buildings should be fully decarbonized by 2050 and new buildings should be near zero energy as of 2020. 

Net-zero carbon target

Von der Leyen's pledge to reach a target of net-zero carbon by 2050 has been received with mixed reactions. While certain industries feel threatened, environmentalists criticized the new policy for not going far enough in tackling the climate crisis.

The new green deal will affect every sector of the European economy from transportation and agriculture to energy production.

In this climate of renewed efforts to tackle climate change, the European Parliament has declared a global "climate and environmental emergency" on Thursday that should pressure EU governments to adopt stronger commitments to reduce their emissions.