EU in Danger of Missing Its Own Climate Targets

A new report urges the European Union to adopt stricter regulations on decarbonisation if it is to meet its 2030 and 2050 climate goals.

A massive new drive to get more diesel cars off the road and close more coal-fired power stations is needed if the European Union is to meet its own climate goals, according to a new report.

The trading bloc is already substantially “off-track” from its own 2030 and 2050 targets, even though CO2 emissions have been naturally depressed by lower-than-expected economic growth due to the financial crisis.

The tough assessment comes from the Paris-based Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI) alongside calls for a “significant revision” of green policies throughout Europe.

Ambitious plans
The IDDRI says there has been progress in key areas of power production with a shift to renewable energy, but “in other sectors such as transport and industry the transition towards deep decarbonization has barely started in any member state whatsoever”.

The EU has adopted ambitious plans to cut carbon pollution by 40% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels.  This is considered a crucial milestone towards plans to slash emissions by 80% to 95% by the middle of the century.

The IDDRI claims to have drilled down into data from all 28 member states and looked in far more detail at individual parts of the economy.

It concludes that the EU has made significant progress in cutting the carbon intensity from its power sector by 21% from the year 2000 to 2014.

There have also been annual reductions of a similar nature in the intensity of home energy consumption and a 9% cut in EU passenger fuel consumption.

Read more at EU in Danger of Missing Its Own Climate Targets