Page 4 - EurOil Week 16 2021

EurOil COMMENTARY EurOil

EU strikes deal on tougher

climate target

The UK has also announced it will enshrine its emissions reduction goal in law

EUROPE THE EU clinched a landmark deal in the early Bloss, the Parliament negotiator for the Greens,
hours of April 21 to enshrine in law its cli- commented to Euractiv ahead of the deal, noting
WHAT: mate-change goals, including at least a 55% the difficulty of calculating the quantity of emis-
The EU has agreed to reduction in net greenhouse gas (GHG) emis- sions that natural sinks absorb. “There are a lot of
set in law its climate sions within a decade. big promises like the Green Deal and then basi-
change goals, including The agreement comes just ahead of a summit cally we settle with real emission reductions of
a 55% reduction in GHG of world leaders that will be hosted by the US on only 52.8%. We can never call ourselves climate
emissions by 2030. April 22-23, where governments are expected champions if we do that.”
to elaborate on and in some cases step up their Others thought the new target was necessary,
WHY: goals to tackle climate change. but called for carbon sinks to be allowed a greater
The deal follows all-night The European Climate Law creates a frame- role.
talks. Some parties had work for mapping out EU climate-related regula- “The proposed target of net 55% is very
sought less and some tions in the coming decades, as the bloc strives to ambitions,” Peter Liese, a German EU mem-
more ambitious targets. reach net-zero emissions by 2050 in order to help ber of parliament who is the lead negotiator for
cap global temperature growth at 1.5 degrees the centre-right European People’s Party, said.
WHAT NEXT: Celsius. Negotiators representing the European “From 1990 until now, we only reduce 25%,
The 2050 net zero target Parliament and the EU’s 27 governments finally which means that in nine years we have to do a
is less in contention, agreed on the law on April 21 after all-night talks, bigger step than in the last 30 years. This is nec-
likely because it is such a over a year after the European Commission first essary and the EPP supports it but it will only be
distant prospect. proposed the bill. achieved if we use all the necessary tools, includ-
Previously the EU had targeted a reduction ing carbon sinks, through sustainable forest
in net emissions of 40% by 2030 versus the 1990 management and modern technology.”
baseline level. As of 2019, EU emissions were The 2050 net-zero target is less in contention,
only 24% lower than the level in 1990. Some EU likely because it appears so distant in the future.
lawmakers had called for an even more ambi-
tious target of 60% by 2030, while environmen- UK target
talists had demanded a cut of 65%. Former EU member the UK also made its
Negotiators also agreed to limit the amount announcement on climate change on April 20.
of emissions that can be removed using natural Its government said it would set in law its goal of
sinks and carbon, capture and storage (CCS) reducing GHG emissions by 78% by 2035, com-
technology at 225mn tonnes of CO2 equivalent. pared with the 1990 level.
The idea behind this cap is that it will encourage “We want to continue to raise the bar on tack-
polluting sectors to cut their emissions rather ling climate change, and that’s why we’re setting
than rely on carbon absorption elsewhere. the most ambitious target to cut emissions in the
“This is a landmark moment for the EU. We world,” UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson com-
have reached an ambitious agreement to write mented. “The UK will be home to pioneering
our climate neutrality target into binding legis- businesses, new technologies and green innova-
lation, as a guide to our policies for the next 30 tion as we make progress to net-zero emissions,
years,” Commission Vice-President Frans Tim- laying the foundation for decades of economic
mermans said in a statement. growth in a way that creates thousands of jobs.”
The UK is hosting the United Nations Cli-
Compromise mate Change Conference in Glasgow in Novem-
With any compromise, there is naturally some ber, and wants to use the event to portray itself
dissatisfaction. Some political groups like the as a leader in the efforts against climate change.
Greens complained that the bloc’s ambition did The government presented its emissions target to
not go far enough. Parliament on April 21 and aims to have it signed
“For me, this is much too little,” Michael into law by the end of June. ™

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