EU promises to cut 80% to 90% of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050

The European Union has promised a greenhouse gas emission cut of 20% compared to the 1990 levels by 2020, 40% by 2030 and 85-90% by 2050. It plans to do this via shift to renewable energy, regulation and financial help. This might not be enough given the alarming pace of climate change, but it is a lot.

Yet, as the EU turned 60 last week, its leaders couldn’t be too jubilant. The EU, plain and simple, is under threat. Not only Brexit, but immigration, terrorism and Trumpism are Greece’s Euro-zone crisis are all weakening it, apart from newly elected right-wing governments in many countries. This is not good for the planet, for the very idea of the EU was to work for the greater common good.

In many ways, it is the best international model we have today for respecting the commons-cleaning up the air, regulating safe transboundary food and the prevention of toxics in the environment and our bodies. As a chemical user, today, you cannot do in the EU what you may have been able to get away with in any individual member country some decades ago.

As Indians, we are vulnerable to the global impacts of climate change. From our perspective, the EU’s commitment to climate change must be strengthened, even increased, but not allowed to drop away. We are also in need of a strong EU that can help us transition, financially and with technologies, to a greener economy. Infact, not just India, but the planet requires the EU to stay strong and intact.

THE EUROPEAN UNION PLANS TO CUT THE EMISSIONS BY SHIFTING TO RENEWABLE ENERGY, REGULATION AND FINANCIAL HELP