Ambitious EU plan to cut emissions by 90%
THE EU has set out plans to slash net greenhouse gas emissions by 90% by 2040, under an ambitious target that will test political appetite for the fight against climate change ahead of the European elections.
While the overall target was within the range recommended by the bloc’s official climate science advisers, the EU executive weakened part of the recommendation concerning agriculture, in response to weeks of protests by farmers angry about European green rules, among other complaints.
It also comes after months of wrangling over the EU Nature Restoration Law last year. It saw the EPP political grouping, of which Fine Gael is a member, push back strongly against some of the proposals.
A previous draft of the EU target had said agriculture would need to cut non-CO2 emissions by 30% by 2040, from 2015 levels, to comply with the overall climate goal. That was removed from the final draft.
Wopke Hoekstra, a European commissioner, said: ‘We need to make sure we have a balanced approach.’
He added: ‘The vast majority of our citizens see the effects of climate change, do want protection, but are also worried about what that implies for their livelihood.’
The proposal will kick off a debate on the target.
However, it will be up to a new EU Commission and Parliament, formed after European elections in June, to pass the final target.
Polls show the June election could deliver a major shift to the right in the EU Parliament, which could make passing ambitious climate policies harder. New political parties, such as Independent Ireland, would likely come out hard against such proposals, making it difficult for the Coalition parties ahead of the European elections. Green Party MEP Ciarán Cuffe said: ‘The reductions are not yet aligned with science, and are over-reliant on nuclear and carbon capture. Truly, the time for action is now.’ Oisín Coughlan, chief executive of the environmental group Friends Of The Earth, said there were already Irish goals to reduce emissions by 50% by 2030 and to be climate neutral by 2050, but added that the new proposals set the targets to 2040, the midpoint between the two decades. ‘It’s neither more nor less ambitious,’ he said while also pointing out that the 90% reduction in emissions by 2040 was an ‘enormous challenge’. The apparent concession to farmers did not satisfy many right-wing members of the EU’s parliament, who said the European Commission’s green targets would constrain lifestyles and the economy.
In its proposal, the commission said the EU should set an economy-wide 2040 target for 90% net greenhouse gas cuts compared with 1990 levels.
The EU plan focused on building an edge in European clean-tech industries, and maintaining public support for climate policy as we head into the elections.
The aim is to keep EU countries on track between the bloc’s existing 2030 climate goal and its long-term aim of achieving netzero emissions by 2050.
The EU reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 33% in 2022, from 1990 levels.
A second EU document, also published yesterday, outlined plans to capture and store hundreds of millions of tons of CO2 emissions by 2050, one of many areas requiring huge investment in new tech.