The Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries is a member of the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

. The current Commissioner is Virginijus Sinkevičius, who also serves as EU Commissioner for the Environment.

Environment

The European Union has made a number of environmental moves, partially in regard to climate change. Most notably it signed the

Kyoto Protocol The was an international treaty which extended the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that commits state parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, based on the scientific consensus that global warming is oc ...

in 1998, set up its Emission Trading Scheme in 2005 and is currently agreeing to unilaterally cut its net emissions of greenhouse gases by at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990s levels. (See:

Energy policy of the European Union The energy policy of the European Union focuses on energy security, Sustainable energy, sustainability, and integrating the energy markets of member states. An increasingly important part of it is climate policy. A key energy policy adopted in ...

) Other policies include

Natura 2000 Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectiv ...

, a widespread and successful network of nature conservation sites, the Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals (REACH) directive requiring safety testing on widely used chemicals, and the Water Framework Directive ensuring water quality reaches higher standards.

Fisheries

The portfolio includes policies such as the

Common Fisheries Policy The Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) is the fishery, fisheries policy of the European Union (EU). It sets quotas for which Member state of the European Union, member states are allowed to catch each type of fish, as well as encouraging the fishin ...

, which is largely a competence of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

rather than the members. The Union has 66,000 km of

coastline A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape and by aquatic erosion, su ...

and the largest

Exclusive Economic Zone An exclusive economic zone (EEZ), as prescribed by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, is an area of the sea in which a sovereign state has exclusive rights regarding the exploration and use of marine natural resource, reso ...

in the world, covering 25 million km². They also participate in meetings of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council (Agrifish) configuration of the

Council of the European Union The Council of the European Union, often referred to in the treaties and other official documents simply as the Council, and less formally known as the Council of Ministers, is the third of the seven institutions of the European Union (EU) a ...

Former commissioners

Karmenu Vella

2014–2019 the Commissioner was Karmenu Vella of Malta. In his hearing before the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety and the Committee on Fisheries, and in his introductory statement to the European Parliament, Vella listed as his priorities Green Growth, protection of

natural capital Natural capital is the world's stock of natural resources, which includes geology, soils, air, water and all living organisms. Some natural capital assets provide people with free goods and services, often called ecosystem services. All of t ...

, and safeguarding the Union's citizens from environment related pressures and risks to health.

Stavros Dimas

During his hearing with the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

, Stavros Dimas announced four main priorities for his term in office:

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the de ...

and

sustainability Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...

; Highlighting the importance of the Kyoto Protocol, the Natura 2000 project, the REACH directive, and the need to better enforce existing EU environmental legislation. On Dimas' website he lists the following key policy areas;

Air An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...

Biotechnology Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the integration of natural sciences and Engineering Science, engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms and parts thereof for products and services. Specialists ...

Chemical A chemical substance is a unique form of matter with constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Chemical substances may take the form of a single element or chemical compounds. If two or more chemical substances can be combin ...

Civil Protection Civil defense or civil protection is an effort to protect the citizens of a state (generally non-combatants) from human-made and natural disasters. It uses the principles of emergency management: prevention, mitigation, preparation, response, ...

and Environmental Accidents,

Climate Change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

, Environmental Technologies, Health, International Issues and Enlargement,

Nature Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the Ecosphere (planetary), ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the Scientific law, laws, elements and phenomenon, phenomena of the physic ...

and

Biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

Noise Noise is sound, chiefly unwanted, unintentional, or harmful sound considered unpleasant, loud, or disruptive to mental or hearing faculties. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrat ...

Soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, water, and organisms that together support the life of plants and soil organisms. Some scientific definitions distinguish dirt from ''soil'' by re ...

Sustainable Development Sustainable development is an approach to growth and Human development (economics), human development that aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.United Nations General ...

, Urban Environment,

Waste Waste are unwanted or unusable materials. Waste is any substance discarded after primary use, or is worthless, defective and of no use. A by-product, by contrast is a joint product of relatively minor Value (economics), economic value. A wast ...

and

Water Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...

. At the UN's

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

talks on climate change in December 2004 he attempted to negotiate mandatory emissions reductions to follow the expiration of Kyoto in 2012. This met with opposition from the US, whose representatives refused to discuss it. Dimas oversaw the introduction of the EU's

emissions trading Emissions trading is a market-oriented approach to controlling pollution by providing economic incentives for reducing the emissions of pollutants. The concept is also known as cap and trade (CAT) or emissions trading scheme (ETS). One prominen ...

scheme that took effect on 1 January 2005, despite emissions reduction plans from Poland, Italy, the Czech Republic and Greece not having been approved on time. He also sought to include companies operating aircraft under the emissions trading regime. In February 2007 the Commissioner put forward his plans to increase fuel efficiency standards of cars so that emissions are no more than 130g of CO₂ per km, down from 162g/km in 2005. This caused anger from the European car industry which was stoked by the Commissioner requesting a Japanese car, a

Toyota Prius The is a Compact car, compact/small family car, small family liftback (supermini/subcompact sedan (car), sedan until 2003) produced by Toyota. The Prius has a Hybrid vehicle drivetrain, hybrid drivetrain, combined with an internal combustion ...

, instead of a European make due to the Toyota's better environmental standards

In response to the refusal of countries to ratify the

, such as the United States and Australia (the latter of which exchanged viewpoints with the EU on the matter), the EU has been looking to tax products imported from those countries not taking low-carbon policies on board ( Border Tax Adjustments). (Australia has since ratified the Kyoto Protocol, at the Bali COP in December 2007).

Carlo Ripa di Meana

Carlo Ripa di Meana was appointed Environment Commissioner in 1990 which coincided with increased public interest and awareness in environmental issues. Ripa di Meana's appointment took place at the same time as that of a new Directorate-General, Brinkhorst. They both tried to change the image of DG XI (now DG Environment) in charge of environmental issues and make it a more mainstream actor. According to Schön-Quinlivan the then president of the commission, Jacques Delors, did not appreciate Ripa di Meana's political style and their relationship became strained. Ripa di Meana was eventually replaced by Karel Van Miert for a period of six months until a full-time replacement could be found. Yet Van Miert supported what had been done before him and described environmental policy as 'one of our most successful policies, and one of the best understood'.

Joe Borg

Commissioner Borg was approved by the

in 2004 and served until 2010. His two main priorities were "setting the European Union on the path towards a European Maritime Policy" and "securing the ecological, economic and

social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives fro ...

sustainability of the European fishing and

aquaculture Aquaculture (less commonly spelled aquiculture), also known as aquafarming, is the controlled cultivation ("farming") of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and other organisms of value such as aquatic plants (e.g. Nelu ...

industry" On 7 June 2006 the

published a

green paper In the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth countries, Hong Kong, the United States and the European Union, a green paper is a tentative government report and consultation document of policy proposals for debate and discussion. A green paper represen ...

on a future Maritime Policy and opened a consultation that ended in June 2007 . The green paper addressed a number of issues such as sustainable development, protection of the environment, skills and employment, technology and resources, coastal safety and tourism, financial support and heritage. On 10 October 2007 the European Commission presented its vision for an integrated maritime policy with a detailed action plan The Commission came under fire in May 2007 for not penalising French fishermen for

over-fishing Overfishing is the removal of a species of fish (i.e. fishing) from a body of water at a rate greater than that the species can replenish its population naturally (i.e. the overexploitation of the fishery's existing Fish stocks, fish stock), resu ...

the threatened

bluefin tuna Bluefin tuna is a common name used to refer to several species of tuna of the genus ''Thunnus''. {{Animal common name Commercial fish Thunnus Fish common names ...

by 65% while backing penalties on Irish fishermen for over-fishing mackerelFishermen citicise EU over-fishing decision
rte.it

List of commissioners

Environment

Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries

A single portfolio including the formerand futureportfolio of the EU Commissioner for Agriculture.

Maritime Affairs and Fisheries

(or Fisheries and Maritime Affairs)

Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries

External links

Commissioner's Website

Eurostat – Statistics Explained – all articles on environment

Celebrating the Environmental Union (Stavros Dimas)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:European Commissioner For Maritime Affairs And Fisheries Maritime affairs and Fisheries European Union fishing regulations

Environment

Fisheries

Former commissioners

Karmenu Vella

Stavros Dimas

Carlo Ripa di Meana

Joe Borg

List of commissioners

Environment

Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries

Maritime Affairs and Fisheries

Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries

See also

Environment

Fisheries

External links

References