European Commission pushes to slash emissions by 2040

The European Commission on Tuesday recommended a 90% net greenhouse gas emissions cut by 2040 on Tuesday, in a session that kicked off the political debate on the aim.

The 2040 target should be on track with the bloc's plans to have net zero emissions by 2050.

However, the session comes at a time when the bloc is faced with angry farmers staging disruptive protests that criticize, among other things, what they say are overly ambitious EU climate goals.

It also comes as the EU braces for elections over the summer, where the far-right, which has been capitalizing on the farmers' protests, is likely to make gains.

What do we know about the 2040 target?

The Commission recommendation show the EU endorses the 90% target for net greenhouse gas cuts, compared with 1990 levels.

In 2022, emissions were reduced by 33% from 1990 levels.

"More focus is, however, needed on a framework that ensures that all citizens benefit from the climate transition," the Commission recommendation on the target said.

"Climate action has to bring everybody along, paying particular attention to supporting those who face the greatest challenge," it said.

The new target will actually be decided by a new Commission, which will be established after the EU elections in June.

A second EU document on Tuesday outlined plans to capture and store hundreds of millions of tons of CO2 emissions by 2050. This is among the many climate areas that need huge investment in new technologies.

The Commission said that meeting the target would require an extra 1.5% of gross domestic product in spending. 

Why is the target controversial?

A growing movement of farmers protesting the social and economic impact of the "European Green Deal" has mobilized against it. Farmers descended on Brussels with hundreds of tractors last week as they sought to highlight their grievances.

Eleven states sent Brussels a joint letter urging the commission to set an "ambitious EU climate target" for 2040, the French AFP news agency reported. They include France, Germany and Spain, which have all seen significant disruptive farmers' protests.

The states also call for a "fair and just transition," that should "leave no one behind, especially the most vulnerable citizens."

"Climate action has to take everybody along," the draft of the Commission's recommendation, seen by the Reuters news agency before the session, also said.

Several bloc leaders have started calling for a "pause" in new environmental rules.

EU Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra warned that the bloc needed to stand "on two legs." One leg represents climate ambitions, while the other is about "making sure our businesses stay competitive, there is a just transition."

Why is the EU aiming for a 90% cut in emissions by 2040?  

In January, the EU's climate advisory board had recommended the bloc cuts its emissions by 90% to 95% by 2040 to achieve climate neutrality targets. It said the EU needed to "considerably increase" CO2 reductions across all sectors, particularly in areas like transport, agriculture, forestry and buildings, including retrofitting homes for energy efficiency. 

The EU's 2040 target is expected to hinge partly on the capture and storage of massive amounts of CO2, which critics say is a technology still largely untested at scale. 

Green Party MEP Jutta Paulus criticized the proposal for relying on "miracles" like carbon capture and storage and other fledgling technologies such as small modular nuclear reactors instead of expanding renewable energy and strengthening wetlands and other natural carbon stores. 

But the bloc could achieve the 90% reduction by "consistently" implementing the EU Green Deal, said Germany's energy industry association BDEW. 

"A target of 90% greenhouse gas reduction compared to 1990 levels would be ambitious and only achievable if it is flanked by the corresponding political measures," said the BDEW in a statement, calling on lawmakers to ease the transition to a fossil-fuel free energy supply for businesses. 

In November last year, UN climate scientists warned that pledges to reach net zero were not "considered credible," setting the world on course to soar past temperature limits agreed to stop the worst effects of climate change.

rmt/kb (AFP, Reuters)