Halving EU Emissions by 2030 Is Affordable, Says Britain

Cutting the European Union's greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent from 1990 levels by 2030 would reduce economic growth by a fraction of a percent, Britain's minister for energy and climate change said on Thursday.

The European Commission, the EU's executive, is expected to unveil proposed 2030 green energy goals around the year end, and Britain wants the bloc to take on an ambitious target to help limit global temperature rises to below 2 degrees Celsius.

"Meeting a 50 percent target is affordable ... equivalent to a reduction in the EU annual growth rate of 0.04 percent between now and 2030," said Ed Davey, speaking at U.N. climate talks in Warsaw and citing the findings of a study done by the country.

The EU's Low Carbon Roadmap, which aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 80-95 percent by 2050, says the 28-nation bloc can inexpensively achieve reductions of 40-44 percent by 2030.

Britain thinks the EU can attain a further 5-10 percent in cuts through buying international carbon offsets, effectively outsourcing the reductions to developing countries, where abatement is cheaper.

Halving EU Emissions by 2030 Is Affordable, Says Britain