Under the Kyoto Protocol, Monaco has undertaken, between 2008 and 2012, to reduce its direct emissions of greenhouse gases by 8% as compared with 1990. Moreover, at the Copenhagen Climate Conference, H.S.H. the Sovereign Prince announced his desire to reduce the Principality's emissions by 30% in 2020 in comparison with 1990 and by 80% by 2050.

In addition, residual emissions must be offset, so the Principality of Monaco can become carbon neutral by 2050.

To this end, an Energy Climate Plan has been established in order to develop an exemplary energy policy that will allow these objectives to be achieved, or even surpassed. This Plan consists of three areas :

• controlling the demand for energy: improving energy efficiency and limiting consumption and peak demand;

• controlling local energy production: creating energy from municipal waste and developing renewable sources of energy;

• reducing greenhouse gas emissions: direct emissions (Kyoto) and indirect emissions (electricity, travel).

For each area, technical, regulatory, financial and awareness-raising activities are being carried out in the fields of: land use, the State's property assets (old and new buildings), private buildings (new and old) and energy supply.

Source: Directorate of Environmental Affairs, Monaco

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It provides continuous measurements and enables pollution alerts to be prepared, as well as monitoring long-term changes in air quality.

This network consists of two different types of monitoring station: local monitoring and background monitoring. Local monitoring stations are situated close to sources of pollution (road traffic); background monitoring stations measure the general atmosphere and are situated away from significant sources of pollution.

The values recorded are compared with the limits set by relevant European directives. They are accessible to the general public in strategic places such as the "Nice-Matin" daily newspaper and on screens at the entrance to Monaco.

Source: Directorate of Environmental Affairs, Monaco

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In addition to this local monitoring, the Directorate of Environmental Affairs participates in the RINBIO (Réseau d’Intégrateurs Biologiques)(Network of Biological Integrators) campaign, organised every three years by the Rhone-Mediterranean and Corsica Water Agency and IFREMER (Institut Français pour la Recherche et l’Exploitation de la Mer)(French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea).

This study is based on the use of biological accumulators (moulds), which, by their presence and their demographic, morphological and physiological behaviours, characterise an environment and its evolution. This network offers the advantage of providing homogenous information on levels of contamination observed with regard to the Western Mediterranean (European Mytilos programme).

Finally, health monitoring of bathing water is also undertaken between the beginning of May and the end of September, with weekly sampling and analysis for each bathing site (the Plage des Pêcheurs, the Solarium and the Larvotto). A declaration of conformity is then prepared at the end of each bathing season. The readings are available to the general public at the monitoring station at the Larvotto beach, the "Nice-Matin" daily newspaper and on screens at the entrance to Monaco.

Source: Directorate of Environmental Affairs, Monaco

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