Europe’s 2030 climate targets ‘not in line’ with 2050 ambitions

The European Commission’s recently agreed renewable and emission targets for 2030 will miss its climate goals and sustain the bloc’s reliance on natural gas imports from Russia, according to analysis by a leading consultancy.

The Commission’s proposed targets for 2030 are not in line with its ambition to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 85-90 per cent of 1990 levels by 2050 is a chief finding from a study by Ecofys.  In the report, Ecofys said the Commission’s proposals “will barely bring the EU on track for a fair contribution to limiting the global temperature rise to below two degrees”.

Ecofys’ research on behalf of the Green/ European Free Alliance (EFA) European Parliament group found that more demanding reductions proposed by the group would decrease the European Union’s (EU’s) annual energy imports by just over 1,000TWh and “about the size of natural gas imports from Russia”. From the Commission’s proposals Ecofys calculated that emissions would only be reduced by 71 per cent by 2050 and the rate of reduction over the period 2020-30 would have to be double that over 2010-20.

The Commission’s headline proposals for 2030 were a 40 per cent reduction in greenhouse gases compared to 1990 with renewables accounting for 27 per cent of EU energy production. The Green/EFA goal was a 60 per cent reduction in emissions with  45 per cent renewable energy and a 40 per cent reduction in consumption through greater energy efficiency.