This study aims to discuss measures to combat climate change pertaining to the waste sectors in the EU and Japan.The EU aims to secure 20% of its total energy consumed from renewable sources and to reduce the emission of greenhousegases by 20% by 2020. This study investigated the amount of waste-based energy produced and confirmed that it makesa significant contribution to renewable energy sources. The amount of energy produced differs according to the type ofwaste utilized and the size (population) of the country and these factors should be taken into account when establishingresponse measures. In Japan, policies have been introduced to promote the recovery of energy and to reduce the greenhousegases emitted by incinerators. In particular, the country has been promoting a high level of efficiency by differentiatingthe government subsidy funding according to the energy recovery rate. This study confirmed that the utilization of wasteresource energy has made a significant contribution to reducing the emission of greenhouse gases in the member countriesof the EU and in Japan. Korea needs to establish similar policies to increase the contribution of energy from wasteresources in the future.