The EU must \u201csignificantly\u201d accelerate its efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions if it is to meet its 2030 and 2050 climate targets, according to a leading scientific advisory group for the bloc. The European Climate Neutrality Observatory assessed dozens of indicators across leading economic sectors. Progress towards the EU\u2019s goals, including its target of net zero emissions by 2050, was particularly poor in forestry and finance, with the bloc needing to increase its annual climate investments by \u20ac360bn to help reach net zero, according to the first comprehensive report to track the bloc\u2019s progress.<\/p>\n
The consortium of research groups also said Brussels must step up its efforts to help households reduce their carbon footprint. The EU has positioned itself as a leader in climate policy, targeting a 55 per cent cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and net zero by 2050. By 2021, the EU had cut its emissions by 30 per cent compared with 1990 levels. But to reach the 2030 goal it would need to make further cuts of 132 megatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent a year, the report said, roughly the annual output of 332 gas-powered stations. \u201cThe past five years of data offers a clear message: while emissions in Europe have continued to go down, a faster rate of reduction is required to meet both the 2030 target and climate neutrality by 2050,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n
The World Meteorological Organization said this week that Europe was warming \u201ctwice as much\u201d as the global average, with temperatures around 2.3C above pre-industrial levels in 2022. Last year saw extreme heat, drought and wildfires across the continent, \u201cnew highs\u201d in the region\u2019s sea surface temperatures and \u201cunprecedented\u201d levels of glacial melting, it said. Rob Jetten, Dutch minister for climate and energy who negotiates for the EU at COP climate summits, said it was crucial that Europe hit its emissions reduction targets because the region \u201cneeds to lead and set the example on climate action, given our historic responsibility\u201d. The European Commission has closed its consultation to set the bloc\u2019s 2040 target on Friday, and is expected to make its first official assessment of progress towards net zero emissions in September.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The EU must \u201csignificantly\u201d accelerate its efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions if it is to meet its 2030 and 2050 climate targets, according to a leading scientific advisory group for the bloc. The European Climate Neutrality Observatory assessed dozens of indicators across leading economic sectors. Progress towards the EU\u2019s goals, including its target of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3828,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[66],"class_list":["post-3826","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","tag-net-zero-emission-target"],"yoast_head":"\n