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European long-term climate roadmap to be unveiled in November
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Current emissions-cut trajectory not enough to meet Paris goal
Photographer: Alessia Pierdomenico/Bloomberg |
Taking a long view and encouraging companies to front-load actions to cap future costs will be among the thrusts of the climate push for the bloc’s executive suites. In its longer-term strategy to be presented in November to achieve targets set under the Paris accord, the European Commission is considering options ranging from lowering greenhouse-gas discharges by 80 percent by 2050 compared with 1990 levels to net-zero emissions by mid-century.
Not Enough The EU has cut its greenhouse gas emissions by about 23 percent since 1990 |
Source: European Environment Agency |
On Tuesday and Wednesday, the EU will host a high-level conference in Brussels to consult companies, non-governmental organizations and researchers on the upcoming road map.
More Needed
“It is now time to look at the longer-term perspective and to set out a strategy for where EU climate policy is heading by 2050,” Climate and Energy Commissioner Miguel Arias Canete said in a statement on Thursday. “The clean energy transition will be key, and achieving our climate objectives will require contributions from every part of the economy and society.”
For the EU, which wants to lead by example, the long-term strategy will also be a political tool to demand more at the next United Nations talks that start in December in Katowice, Poland. Envoys from more than 190 countries will aim to iron out a rule-book to implement the Paris deal and its mechanisms to step up carbon reductions worldwide.
“We have a reasonable chance of persuading the other large emitters in the developed and emerging world to follow us,” Petriccione said. “The only way to persuade them is to be successful. The only example people want to follow is success.”
Climate Streaks Carbon-dioxide emissions over the past decade |
Source: BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2018 |
No ‘Monsters’
As part of a push for more ambition at the UN climate talks in December, the EU may toughen its contribution to the Paris Agreement and submit a stricter goal of “slightly over 45 percent” by 2030. Deeper reductions will be possible after policy makers agreed to pursue stricter energy efficiency and renewables goals for 2030, Canete said last month.
To ensure its fight against climate change and shift to sustainable economy are effective, Europe must embrace a new approach to energy, going beyond incorporating renewables into the grid, according to Petriccione. As part of the transformation, the EU should also embrace new clean sources of energy, such as hydrogen, he said.
“It’s perfectly conceivable to diversify our sources of energy not only to replace fossil fuels but also according to what you actually want to do with the energy,” he said. “A power plant that feeds the electric grid of a large city is a monster. A power plant that feeds a steel plant is a monster. You don’t need to get energy from a monster to feed your house. This gives you a lot more options.”
Links
- EU Can Toughen Its Emissions-Cut Target Under Paris Climate Deal
- Former Coal Lobbyist Takes Over EPA From Embattled Chief Pruitt
- China, Europe fill the gap as US cedes global climate leadership
- UN Environment and European Union call for stronger action against climate-change-related security threat
- More than 20 nations seek lead in setting tougher climate goals
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