Europe’s new climate plan heralds energy ‘transformation’

(EurActiv, 21 Sep 2020) Meeting the EU’s proposed new climate targets for 2030 will require a “transformation” of the bloc’s energy system, with a renewed focus on renewables and further efforts to cut fossil fuels in buildings, transport and industry, the European Commission has said.

“Climate change is the defining challenge of this century,” said Kadri Simson, the EU’s energy Commissioner. “And to meet this challenge, we need both long-term vision and immediate action,” she said as the EU executive presented its new climate plan for 2030 on Thursday (17 September).

The centrepiece of the Commission’s new climate plan is the objective to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030 – a move it says will put the EU on track to reach climate neutrality by mid-century, in line with the bloc’s international commitments made under the Paris Agreement.

Achieving the EU’s updated climate target “would result in a new and greener energy mix,” the EU executive says. “By 2030, coal consumption would be reduced by more than 70% compared to 2015, and oil and gas by more than 30% and 25%, respectively,” it said in new policy proposals unveiled on Thursday.

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EurActiv, 21 Sep 2020: Europe’s new climate plan heralds energy ‘transformation’