The European climate target of reducing emissions by 90% by 2040 is under pressure as influential political voices have spoken out against it.
This is reported by Euractiv.
The European Commission has not yet made a specific legal proposal for this goal. It has been determined that the EU aims to reduce CO2 emissions by 55% by 2030 and then become climate-neutral in 2050. But currently, political battles are centering on the pace of emissions reductions over the two decades between these two targets. The European Commission's idea is to reduce emissions by 90% by 2040 compared to 1990 levels.
Who speaks out against it
However, several officials question the rationality of the proposed target.
"The Commission must carefully evaluate the recommended choice of a 90% reduction target by 2040 compared to the alternatives of 80% and 85%," said Italy’s Minister of Energy, Gilberto Frattin.
According to him, future technologies may be "much more efficient and cheaper."
A similar opinion was expressed at the Berlin think tank CEP.
"Due to the high economic and social risks associated with the 90% target, the EU would be better off pursuing a linear reduction to 2040," said political analyst Martin Menner.
If a straight line is drawn between 2030 and 2050, emissions reductions should be set at 78%, he asserts in an analytical note published this week.
According to one of Euractiv’s sources in the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), this idea came up during negotiations over a new position by the German government and falls on "fertile soil".
What is the position of the bloc's executive branch?
The EU’s advisory body on climate is pushing for a target ranging from 90% to 95%. EU Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra was tasked with “establishing a target of reducing emissions by 90% by 2040” in his letter.
Given these differing opinions, the legal proposal for the target has not yet been included in the executive branch’s preliminary schedule for March despite the European Commission insisting that it would adhere to its 2025 deadline.
As recently reported by EcoPolitic, the European Commission has postponed the announcement of the EU’s 2040 climate target to the second quarter of 2025.
