Yashashree Malpathak
www.mediaeyenews.com
On Wednesday, the European Union presented the "Fit for 55" plan, which seeks to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 55 percent by 2030. It proposes a ban on diesel and petrol cars by 2035, a 40% increase in renewable energy in the EU by 2030 (from 1990 levels), and, most importantly, a carbon-border tax to discourage carbon-intensive imports from countries with high emissions, among other things.
By 2050, the EU aims to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent. To attain the goal of climate-neutrality in Europe by 2050, the European Commission had launched a set of policy measures under the Green Deal. These carbon reductions must be achieved in the next decade if Europe is to become the world's first climate-neutral continent by 2050 and the European Green Deal to become a reality.
In comparison to 1990, the EU had cut emissions by 24% by 2019. From 1990 to 2019, the EU reduced carbon emissions by 24%; now, in just 9 years, it wants to reduce CO2 emissions by another 31%. The Paris climate agreement, signed in 2016, intends to keep global temperature rise far below 2 degrees Celcius, preferably under 1.5 degrees Celsius, to avoid the worst effects of climate change.
The European Climate Law, which takes effect this month, makes the EU's commitment to climate neutrality and the intermediate goal of lowering net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 percent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels legally binding.
The plan, which was unveiled on Wednesday, has a dozen proposals that must yet be approved by the EU's 27 member states and parliament. The proposals also include a levy on aviation fuel and a 10-year tax reduction for low-carbon alternatives, more ambitious targets for renewable energy expansion across the EU bloc, and demand that countries renovate buildings that are not certified energy-efficient more quickly that are being considered.
The new proposal is based on the principle that the polluter pays. It’s going to extend carbon pricing to around two-thirds of emissions in the EU. The carbon border tariff, which would require manufacturers from outside the EU to pay more for importing materials like steel and concrete is opposed by both, the US, and China. Critics say the plan places too much burden on consumers especially in poor European countries. Environmentalists say the plan doesn’t go far enough.
The European Union's objective of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by more than half by the end of the decade will have far-reaching consequences for jobs and the EU's economy. European leaders argued that the climate package proposed on Wednesday could place Europe at the forefront of innovative technologies such as electric car batteries, offshore wind power, and hydrogen-powered aircraft engines.
