EU must cut carbon emissions three times faster to meet targets, report says

(The Guardian, 24 Oct 2023) Climate commissioner says pace of reductions needs to speed up in buildings, transport and agriculture to meet 55% target by 2030

The EU must cut greenhouse gas pollution almost three times more quickly than it has over the past decade to meet its climate targets, a European Commission report has said.

In an attempt to stop weather growing more extreme, the EU has promised to pump 55% less planet-heating gas into the air in 2030 than it did in 1990. But over the past three decades it has cut emissions by just 32%, leaving behind “significant gaps” for the next seven years, the commission found in its latest State of the Energy Union report.

Current policies will cut emissions in 2030 by just 43%, according to new estimates from the European Environment Agency project. The figure rises to 48% if they include policies that have been planned but not yet put in place, but still leave a deficit in climate action of seven percentage points.

“To fully achieve these targets, the pace of emissions reductions needs to step up,” said Wopke Hoekstra, the EU’s new climate commissioner.

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The Guardian, 24 Oct 2023: EU must cut carbon emissions three times faster to meet targets, report says