Brussels, 07/03/2011 (Agence Europe) - How can EU greenhouse gas emissions be reduced by 80-95% by 2050 (compared with 1990 levels), the objective subscribed to in international climate negotiations by the EU and all the industrial countries on the planet to keep the average temperature rise to 2° Celsius? The European Commission will reveal its vision of things in Strasbourg on Tuesday 8 March in two key documents based on the 2009 climate package objectives (20% emissions reduction, 20% of renewable energies in the energy mix and 20% energy efficiencies)
The first communication is a roadmap for the shift to a low carbon economy by 2050. This document will be particularly ambitious since it is accepted that the EU will achieve its unilaterally set objective without difficulty within the time set (emissions had been reduced by 17% by 2010). The second document is the new 2011 energy efficiency plan which, by means of new measures, will allow the EU to reach its non-binding target of 20% energy savings by 2020 (at the speed at which things are moving, the EU will achieve 10% by the deadline) and propel it towards the long-term objective.
The roadmap to 2050 will provide key sectors of the economy - energy, transport, industry, construction, and agriculture - viable and pragmatic avenues for achieving the target. An 80% reduction in overall EU emissions by 2050 (its baseline target) will require nothing less than reductions of 93-99% in energy, 83-87% in industry, 54-67% in transport, 88-91% in heating buildings, and 42-49% in agriculture. The investment required in clean technologies and energy efficiency are estimated at €270 billion per year (an average over 40 years), or 1.5% of GDP, but this will bring green growth, create jobs, lead to savings in healthcare costs and ensure security of energy supply, European sources said in Brussels on Monday.
The roadmap is the start of a massive anticipatory exercise, defining scenarios for the “decarbonising” of the economy. It will be followed by a White Paper on transport and an energy roadmap to 2050. The roadmap for a low-carbon European economy and the 2011 energy efficiency plan are the first parts of long-term strategies within the “Resource Efficient Europe” flagship initiative. (A.N./transl.rt)