National (climate) legislation

The Climate Act is key to this. If necessary, the Advisory Division includes other national legislation in its assessment of the Climate Plan and the proposed measures.

European (climate) legislation

On a European level, the Advisory Division may, for example, review the Treaty on the workings of the European Union. Among other things, this treaty regulates the free movement of goods and economic competition and contains provisions regarding environmental management. This could also cover the rights included in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and the European Convention on Human Rights. The Advisory Division also examines the various, more specific European directives and regulations on tackling climate change, such as:

• Regulation on the Governance of the Energy Union and Climate Action
• Directive on the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS)
• Regulation on binding annual greenhouse gas emission reductions by Member States (non-ETS sectors)
• Directive promoting the use of energy from renewable sources
• Directive on energy efficiency

International climate legislation

If necessary, the Advisory Division also reviews the relationship between the measures in the Climate Plan and the three global climate treaties: United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement. As, for example, in the advisory opinion from the Advisory Division of 15 December on the Climate Act.