A European Union plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions to 55 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 is technically and economically possible, researchers said on Monday.
(From left) UN climate chief Patricia Espinosa, Iran's head of delegation Majid Shafiepour Motlagh, China's top climate negotiator Xie Zhenhua, European Union's climate commissioner Miguel Arias Canete, COP24 president Michal Kurtyka react at the end of the final session of the COP24 summit on climate change in Katowice, Poland on Saturday. Countries attending the summit agreed to continue the path on confronting climate change and emissions reductions. Photo: AFP
The European Commission will propose in September a tougher EU climate goal for 2030, to steer the bloc towards its flagship target of net zero emissions by 2050, down from the nearly 4 billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalent it currently emits annually.
The Commission will propose a 50 percent or a 55 percent emissions reduction for 2030 - up from an existing 40 percent goal. It would set the stage for planned EU reforms on tax, energy policy and the carbon market in 2021.
"Achieving a 55 percent target is possible," German-based think tank Agora Energiewende executive director Patrick Graichen told Reuters. "And if it is feasible, why wouldn't we go for it?"
In an analysis published on Monday, Agora Energiewende and the German research center Oeko Institut lay out how the EU could revamp its climate policies to deliver the goal.
The EU carbon market, which covers emissions from power plants, industry and European flights, has the greatest potential to cut emissions quickly. To deliver the 55 percent target, the researchers said emissions covered by the Emissions Trading System should fall to 61 percent below 2005 levels, a much deeper cut than the 43 percent reduction the carbon market is designed to deliver by 2030. That would require reforms to the carbon market, including reducing its cap on emissions by up to 5.4 percent annually from 2025, compared with the 2.2 percent reduction rate currently planned.
EU countries that must approve the new climate target, are divided. Western and Nordic countries back the more ambitious level and eastern nations refuse to consider bigger cuts before seeing an assessment of the costs.
To help low-income countries, the EU should earmark funds in its next budget for local building renovations and electric vehicle charging infrastructure, the researchers said. Another option would be a system of auctioning emissions permits for sectors not covered.
Newspaper headline: Policies revamp, funds required