The European Union is “well on track” to achieve its climate targets for 2030, according to the European Commission.
An assessment of the EU’s updated National Climate and Energy Plans (NECPs) shows the bloc is on course for a 54 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared with 1990 levels by the end of the decade—only one percent short of its legally binding goal, reported Euronews.
“The world is in a full geopolitical winter. But despite everything that is going on today, we do feel we have good news, and we’re pleased to say that the EU is well on track to achieve its 2030 target,” Wopke Hoekstra, European commissioner for climate, net zero and clean growth, told reporters in Brussels, as AFP reported. “It is also fair to say that the ambition on paper needs to be matched by ambition in the real world.”
The updated NECPs reflect greater efforts by EU member states to reduce their emissions in the past two years, even in the face of demands from some that the bloc weaken its green commitments, reported Euronews.
Civil society organizations have said they remain concerned about significant flaws in the plans and whether governments will be able to fully implement them.
“The EU’s 2030 climate and energy targets are clearly achievable, but without effective national policies and credible financing—both of which are largely lacking in the updated plans—implementation will fall short,” said Giulia Nardi, climate policy expert at Climate Action Network Europe, as Euronews reported.
The EU is looking to boost European industry while being confronted with competition from China and the United States and tackling an alarming increase in floods and wildfires that are the result of human-caused climate change, reported AFP.
The commission said the bloc has so far reduced its emissions by 37 percent, including a drop of eight percent in 2023.
Brussels said most EU member states were currently aligned with the goal of achieving a share of overall energy consumption being produced by 42.5 percent renewable energy by the end of the decade.
The commission warned the bloc not to become complacent.
“The cost of inaction is rising,” said Teresa Ribera, executive vice president for European Parliament’s Clean, Just and Competitive Transition, at a press conference on Wednesday, as Politico reported. “Every climate disaster we are unprepared for hits harder. It imposes more cost to our economy and it creates more social harm.”
The commission pointed out some disparities between members on reducing emissions while highlighting the issues of carbon storage and protecting forests, reported AFP.
It said Belgium, Poland and Estonia had not submitted their climate and energy plans, and urged them to “do so without delay.”
“We have reasons to be proud, although we cannot be satisfied. We’ve come a long way, but we’re not where we need to be yet,” said Dan Jorgensen, European commissioner for energy and housing, as AFP reported.
The EU has a goal of being carbon neutral by 2050. Brussels has said it would like to set an interim 2040 target, with the commission looking to reduce emissions by 90 percent.
“A clear target for 2040 and giving predictability, in our view, is important,” Hoekstra said.
A proposed 2040 emissions target is expected to be released by the commission this year.
“Europe is proving that reliable and predictable science-based targets and adequate regulation deliver. The updated National Energy and Climate Plans show that the green agenda is not just a target but a way to modernise our economies and to bet on industrial innovation and more opportunities for Europeans. Our task now is to deepen in our capacities and boost action with no delays. We can deliver 55 percent and we need to build the conditions to reach 90 percent by 2040,” Ribera said, as reported by ESG Today.
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