The European Commission has published recommendations for achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, Report informs referring to the EC website.
It recommends a 90% net greenhouse gas emissions reduction by 2040 compared to 1990 levels, which is in line with recent scientific advice and the EU’s commitments under the Paris Agreement.
The EC has outlined the conditions and tasks that must be met for such a significant reduction in emissions. In particular, it is expected that the use of oil and gas for energy purposes will be reduced by 80% by 2040.
“The energy sector is projected to achieve full decarbonization shortly after 2040, based on all zero and low carbon energy solutions, including renewables, nuclear, energy efficiency, storage, CCS, CCU, carbon removals, geothermal and hydro. (…) An important benefit of these efforts is a lower dependence on fossil fuels thanks to an 80% fall in their consumption for energy from 2021 to 2040,” reads the message.
The starting point is the full implementation of the existing legislation to reduce emissions by at least 55% by 2030.
“Achieving the 90% recommended target will require both emissions reductions and carbon removals. It will require deployment of carbon capture and storage technologies, as well as the use of captured carbon in industry. The EU's Industrial Carbon Management strategy will support the development of CO2 supply chains and the required CO2 transport infrastructure. Carbon capture should be targeted to hard-to-abate sectors where alternatives are less economically viable.”
A successful climate transition should go hand-in-hand with strengthened industrial competitiveness, especially in clean tech sectors. Climate action has to bring benefits to everybody in our societies, and climate policies need to take into account those who are most vulnerable, or face the greatest challenges to adapt.
In the last five years alone, climate-related economic damage in Europe is estimated at 170 billion euros. The Commission's impact assessment finds that, even by conservative estimates, higher global warming as a result of inaction could lower the EU's GDP by about 7% by the end of the century.
Based on this impact assessment, the Commission recommends a 90% net greenhouse gas emissions reduction by 2040 compared to 1990 levels, launching a discussion with all stakeholders; a legislative proposal will be made by the next Commission, after the European elections, and agreed with the European Parliament and Member States as required under the EU Climate Law.
