About: 2030 climate and energy targets
Make the Fit for 55 package fit for cities
Europe's new and revised climate legislation needs to enable cities to reach climate neutrality by mid-century, including by encouraging more building renovation and driving the transition to clean energy, European mayors write.
Why the renovation wave matters more than the EU knows
The unprecedented push for renovation across Europe needs to be in line with its climate ambition and work in synergy with the rest of the EU's climate legislation in order to fulfil its potential, writes Adeline Rochet and Pedro Guertler.
Why carbon capture on waste-to-energy facilities undermines climate action
Despite the initial impression that carbon capture and storage would be a good idea to reduce emissions from waste incineration plants, the climate will not benefit from this, argue Mick Wallace and Janek Vähk.
The EU needs to make its upcoming climate and energy legislative package ‘Fit for 1.5°C’
A post-covid Europe must make far more effort when it comes to tackling climate change. Even with its recently enhanced target of at least 55% emissions reduction by 2030, the EU still fails to keep us safe from a climate catastrophe, argues Wendel Trio.Promoted content
How an ambitious and rapid reform of the EU-ETS is essential to achieve the new climate objectives
2021 is a decisive year for climate action. Following the binding objective of carbon neutrality in the Climate Law, it is now urgent to align the various legislative texts with this ambition. Alexandre Perra is the EDF’s Group Senior Executive...
Why a carbon tax is the most effective price signal for the building sector
A carbon tax on the fuel used to heat Europe's buildings is the most effective price signal to decarbonise Europe's building stock, which is in desperate need of renovation to meet the EU's climate ambition, writes Oliver Rapf.
It’s time to put climate targets first
Legally binding reduction targets for member states should be the unequivocal starting point of making EU laws fit for new EU climate targets. Based on a new distribution formula, national targets should continue until climate neutrality is achieved in 2050, argue Nils Meyer-Ohlendorf, Michał Kaminski, and András Huszár.
EU leaders are prioritising climate heroism over ambitious policies
EU leaders are focused on the spectacle of arriving at the US climate summit on Thursday (22 April) with an agreement on the EU climate law and 2030 target, but risk sacrificing the quality of the legislation, argue Adélaïde Charlier and Chloé Mikolajczak.
Why the Commission is getting it wrong on climate number-crunching
The European Commission's cost-benefit analysis for its upcoming 'Fit for 55' package of green laws for 2030 is outdated, assuming an eye-watering 10% cost of capital for climate action, writes Brook Riley.
From Paris to Glasgow: the EU must drive climate action at home and abroad
2020 has been marred with pandemic, devastating wildfires and more frequent flooding, but it has also been a year of more ambitious climate targets. Now countries need to act on their pledges, writes Eliot Whittington.
How Europe’s decisions on climate change reverberate across Africa
The fifth anniversary of the Paris Agreement is this week, and Africa is looking at leaders like Ursula von der Leyen, Charles Michel, Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron to begin treating the climate crisis like a crisis, writes Vanessa Nakate.
Time to step up: 5 years on from Paris
It is high time that European and national leaders formally commit to stronger EU 2030 decarbonisation objectives and start working for a climate neutral Europe by 2050, together with our cities and regions, write the heads of four city networks.
Why Europe must reskill workers to reach its climate goals
The large-scale social and economic shifts caused by the clean energy transition should be managed with care, write Magnus Tyreman and Hauke Engel. A broad training effort would enable Europe to create a labour force that will thrive during the pursuit of the net-zero emissions target, they argue.Promoted content
PGE: Poland wants to catch the wind of Baltic Sea
PGE Capital Group wants to be the leader of offshore energy in Poland. Plans to deploy up to 6.5 GW of offshore wind farms capacity in the Baltic Sea are divided into two stages. By 2030, PGE will commission two...
EU needs mandatory targets and means to save energy
The European Commission needs to bring in legally-binding energy efficiency targets to support building renovation and give member states the support they need to reach them, write Kamila Waciega and Ville Niinistö.
Poland can contribute to the EU’s 55% target while solving its key problems
Poland is lagging behind cutting greenhouse gas emissions, but diversifying its energy mix, making heating clean and increasing traffic electrification could improve emission reductions and transform the economy for the future, writes Aleksandra Gawlikowska-Fyk.
Delivering a net-zero economy
Mid-century climate targets are feasible but decisive action needs to be taken in the 2020s to put the world onto the right trajectory, writes Sandrine Dixson-Declève.
Europe: Time to Paris!
Today is the last European summit where EU leaders will meet before the Paris Agreement's 5th birthday party, and there is still no agreement on the table to increase the EU's contribution to the UN, write Parents for Future Germany.
Meeting the 2030 emissions targets: Mission possible?
Meeting the European Commission’s proposed climate target for 2030 will require a step change in emission reduction – nearly trebling the existing effort – and a considerable ramp up in renewable energy production, write Mike Parr and Gabriel Benchetrit.
Spend it well – the EU’s €1.8 trillion problem
Europe has to rethink how it allocates resources to reach its climate targets, says Kirsten Dunlop. We need to change the way we do innovation, she argues.
An EU 2030 climate target of at least 55% is not only necessary – it is also possible
Ambitious climate policy in the EU can underpin a sustainable economic growth that supports the development of a competitive, modern economy that delivers benefits for all, and acts as a beacon of inspiration to the rest of the world, writes Dan Jørgensen.
The EU can and must cut emissions by more than 55% by 2030
The European Commission has proposed to strengthen its 40% greenhouse gas emission reduction target to 50% or 55% on 1990 levels in the next ten years. But this step does not meet the minimum level of ambition that climate science,...
In the right direction but lacking ambition: The Spanish Climate Change and Energy Transition Bill
If the European Green Deal is going to be EU’s recovery strategy from the coronavirus crisis, the Spanish climate and energy bill is not ambitious enough, writes Ana Barreira.