The European Green Deal 2030
The European Green Deal 2030
Last week the European Commission agreed to new climate targets: the “2030 Climate Target Plan”. With this European Green Deal 2030 plan, the EU will cut greenhouse gas emissions by 55% compared to 1990 levels by 2030. The initial target was 40%, yet, the decision of this substantial increase was made to provide policymakers and investors with increased certainty and making sure that the marks for the next ten years are in line with fulfilling the Paris Agreement to be “climate-neutral” by 2050.
Resulting from the New European Green Deal, this new climate target actually commits to the ideas set out in the Green Deal. It lays the basis to be able to achieve keeping the increase of global temperatures well below 2 degrees, at 1.5 degrees. Carbon pricing, as we have discussed in the post about the EW-Factor, will play a significant role in decarbonizing the economy and achieving the new targets.
By June 2021, the EU wants to have all relevant policy instruments ready, that are needed to achieve the extra 15% in emissions reduction. The impact assessment that accompanied the new climate target plan illustrates what needs be done in terms of climate- and energy-related policies.
Ursula von der Leyen tweeted on Friday, December 11th at 8.22 am that after 10 hours of negotiations, the European Commission has agreed on these new climate targets. What you might not know is that this was also the day of the first anniversary of the European Green Deal 2030.
What happened so far?
According to the commission, between the years of 1990 and 2019, GHG emissions dropped 24% whilst the economy grew a total of around 60%. This is already impressive. Nevertheless, efforts need to be stepped up significantly if a reduction of 50 to 55 per cent is to be achieved within the next decade.
Energy efficiency is a significant part of the new deal, especially within the buildings sector. Other aspects that are of great significance are the energy and transport sector and providing an infrastructure that allows for charging BEVs.
It was Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, that said it was worth staying up all night for that deal and that it is a “very, very important result”.
Opponents of the new deal were countries heavily dependent on coal, as this will require massive investments into renewables and infrastructure. On the other hand, there are also countries like the UK that have set their goal even higher, by saying that they want to achieve a reduction in GHG by at least 68% compared to 1990 levels.
What about the “Paris 2050 Agreement”?
With the Paris 2050 Agreement having had its 5th anniversary, countries are obliged to submit their updated climate targets by the end of the year, which we are impatiently waiting for, as the European Commission will not be able to achieve their new targets without the help of all individual member countries!