The Commission has announced it will be sticking to its 90% emissions reduction target by 2040, giving Europe’s carmakers, airlines, shipping companies, fuel producers and other key industries certainty over Europe's green future, says T&E.
However, the Commission has also left the door open for countries to use carbon credits to meet the target. This contradicts the Commission’s previous commitments and sets a precedent that could allow other climate obligations to be watered down through offsets, warns T&E. An investigation carried out two years ago showed that more than 90% of rainforest carbon offsets by the world’s biggest certifier are worthless. Offsets also reduce the incentive to invest in proven, technologically available green solutions, says T&E.
T&E points to the fact that a strong 2040 target is a matter of energy security that could save Europe billions of euros on fossil fuel imports. In the Commission’s own working document on the 2040 target, it finds the target could save between $75 and $100 billion per year in oil - most of which would be imported.
A strong target is crucial for Europe’s transport sector which will alone represent 45% of EU emissions in 2030. To reach the 90% target, the EU will have to resist pressure to weaken its 2035 zero-emission cars target and its carbon levy on fossil fuels (ETS2). It will also have to introduce ambitious measures to electrify corporate fleets, tax the aviation sector, truck CO2 targets and green fuel targets for ships and planes.
Federico Terreni, climate policy manager at T&E: “The 90% target will provide Europe’s carmakers, airlines, shipping companies and fuel producers the much needed certainty to invest in green technologies. But allowing offsets to meet climate goals is a cop out and risks making a paper tiger out of the European Green Deal. There is no evidence that offsets actually work as intended and it reflects a worrying chipping away of European climate regulations. It would also massively damage the EU’s leadership and credibility as we approach COP30.”
A latest Eurobarometer poll shows that more than 80% of Europeans support the EU’s goal of reaching climate neutrality by 2050.
