European Union leaders agree to 55% emissions reduction by 2030
BRUSSELS: European Union countries agreed a new climate change target for the bloc on Friday after haggling through the night in Brussels, pulling the political trigger on a policy revamp to make every sector greener.
Leaders of the 27 member states agreed to cut their net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% from 1990 levels by 2030, substantially toughening an existing 40% target.
The EU wants to reach “net zero” emissions by 2050, a deadline that scientists say the world must meet to avert the most catastrophic impacts of climate change.
Carbon emissions fell by record 7% in 2020: Study PARIS: Carbon emissions fell a record 7% in 2020 as countries imposed lockdowns and restrictions on movement during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Global Carbon Project said Friday in its annual assessment.
The fall of an estimated 2.4 billion tonnes is considerably larger than previous annual record declines, such as 0.9 billion tonnes at the end of World
War II or 0.5 billion tonnes in 2009 at the height of the financial crisis.
The international team of researchers behind the report said emissions from fossil fuels and industry would be around 34 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent this year -- still a significant chunk of Earth’s remaining “carbon budget”.
Emissions reductions were most pronounced in the United States (down 12%) and the European Union (down 11%). In China, however, it said emissions would likely fall in 2020 just 1.7% as Beijing superpowered its economic recovery.