Climate change: EU proposes plan to go carbon-neutral by 2050

Member states are being asked to step up to limit climate change

The EU is already being hit by climate change, with the worst wildfires on record in Greece this summer killing 99 (AFP/Getty)

The European Union’s climate change chief has called for the bloc to bring its greenhouse gas emissions down to net zero by 2050 to tackle climate change.

The proposal by climate commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete would make Europe the world’s first major economic to go fully “carbon neutral”.

Speaking on Wednesday, Mr Arias Cañete said while the EU already had “the world’s most ambitious” climate change policies, they were “clearly not sufficient” to limit global warming in light of new evidence.

The European Commission has unveiled a new strategy assessing options to achieve the goal, laying out a series of scenarios to be considered by member states.

National governments will have to agree a final approach next year. That will be submitted to the United Nations in 2020. Agreement on the issue will be hard, however, with some countries like Poland and Germany struggling to meet their commitments, and others such as Denmark, Sweden and Spain seeking a more ambitious commitment.

“In October, the IPCC [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change] special report on 1.5C made it clear that emissions need to be reduced with far more urgency than previously anticipated and that limiting climate change to 1.5C is necessary to reduce the likelihood of extreme weather events. This has been a wake-up call,” he told reporters in Brussels.

The announcement comes ahead of the COP24 UN summit in Katowice, Poland, where it is hoped the implementation of the Paris Agreement on climate change will be finalised.

Under current policies the EU is expected to cut emissions by about 60 per cent by 2050 compared to 1990 levels, with most of the work done by new energy efficiency and renewable energy targets.

But to meet the Paris Agreement and keep warming below 2C or ideally 1.5C, the Commission’s report accepts that more action is needed.

The Commission says going carbon-neutral will also have other significant benefits, such as cutting premature air pollution deaths by 40 per cent and adding 2 per cent to the EU’s economies by 2050, while reducing energy imports by over 70 per cent and saving up to €3bn a year.

The EU is already being hit by climate change, with the worst wildfires on record in Greece this summer killing 99.

“The EU has already started the modernisation and transformation towards a climate neutral economy,” Mr Arias Cañete said.

“And today, we are stepping up our efforts as we propose a strategy for Europe to become the world’s first major economy to go climate neutral by 2050. Going climate neutral is necessary, possible and in Europe’s interest. It is necessary to meet the long-term temperature goals of the Paris Agreement.

“It is possible with current technologies and those close to deployment. And it is in Europe’s interest to stop spending on fossil fuel imports and invest in meaningful improvements to the daily lives of all Europeans. No European, no region should be left behind.

“The EU will support those more impacted by this transition so that everyone’s ready to adapt to the new requirements of a climate neutral economy.”