The European Union prepares to accelerate the reduction of CO ₂ emissions in 2030

According to a report, von der Leyen will make public her commitment to 55% by 2030 during her State of the Union address on Thursday, an ambitious guideline that, if realised, will affect households and industries across the EU.

The European Union (EU) is preparing to give a climate acceleration in the horizon of 2030, setting an intermediate guideline of emission reduction of 55%, compared to the 40% currently set, which paves the way for the complete decarbonization of the European economy in 2050.

The European Commission has been working for months on an intermediate cut in emissions of between 50 and 55% compared to 1990 values as part of the development of the Climate Law presented in March, which the president of the EU Executive, the German conservative Ursula von der Leyen, wants to make one of the pillars of her mandate.

According to information published by the Euractiv portal, Efe’s partner, von der Leyen will make public her commitment to 55% in 2030 during her State of the Union address on Thursday, an ambitious guideline that, if materialized, will affect households and industries throughout the EU.

This green bet aims to bring closer to the European goal of climate neutrality in 2050, that is, that the community bloc emits only the CO2 that the EU is able to absorb in its territory, a long-term objective that requires the unanimity of the Twenty-seven and that still needs the official support of Poland.

A LONG WAY

The Commission’s proposal is only one part of the legislative process for the EU to amend those legally binding targets in 2030 to mitigate climate change, in line with the Paris Pact. For this reduction to become effective, an agreement must bear fruit in a trilogue negotiation with the European Parliament and the Council.

The European Parliament, traditionally more ambitious than the countries in terms of climate, is pending to set its final position, although the competent parliamentary committee has already recommended betting on 60% as a negotiating position.

The Council, which represents eu countries and is often less environmentally bold than Parliament, has not yet set its own.

“We have not yet talked about the Commission’s proposal for an updated target for 2030 because we are waiting to receive it, but we have discussed all other aspects of European climate law,” they explain from the institution.

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Although it is not yet on the official agenda but it is expected that those of heads of state and government of the EU will analyze the whole of the Climate Law at the European Council on October 15 and 16.

Once the leaders have set the guidelines, the details, including the path of reduction in 2030, would be discussed at the ministerial level in the council of environment holders to be held at the end of October.

A dozen European countries support, a priori, the goal of 55% and from the Spanish Ministry for the Ecological Transition directed by Teresa Ribera point out to Efe that, in the absence of specifying the objective, Spain is with “the maximum ambition always”.

However, sources in the Council and the Member States point out that the main stumbling block in the debate is expected to be the contribution of each Member State to these targets based on what they have polluted in the past and their capacities to reduce their emissions.

“Several Member States first want to see exactly how we can achieve new targets, before accepting them. And the impact on member states is never evenly distributed: if we ask for stricter targets, for example in agriculture or road transport, it will affect some more than others,” says a European source.

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Spain’s National Energy and Climate Plan envisages a 20% reduction compared to 1990 values, when Spanish emissions were much lower than those of highly industrialized countries such as Germany or France, which would actually mean the elimination of 1 in 3 tons of CO2 equivalent that Spain currently discharges into the atmosphere.

Only once the Council, Parliament and Commission have set their positions on the revision of greenhouse gas emission limits in 2030 will the final and legally binding targets be negotiated.

“Difficult talks are sure to be coming,” concedes a European source.

Source: The Economist