On Monday 25 June, European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy Miguel Arias Cañete gave his assurance that raising the EU’s ambition for its 2030 objective was possible before the COP 24 in Katowice, and that the long-term strategy requested by the European Council between now and March 2019 (see EUROPE 11988) and by 14 European environment ministers for November 2018 (see EUROPE 12048) will be fully comprehensive.
“If the new energy efficiency targets (32.5%) and renewable targets (32%) are adopted, we shall present a new determined contribution (NDC) from the EU before Katowice”, Cañete told European environment ministers in Luxembourg.
He went on to add: “The long-term strategy will include various scenarios for reaching zero carbon emissions by 2050 and then negative emissions. It is on this basis that we shall act. We shall arrive in Katowice with a text allowing the EU’s ambition to be raised. We shall be more ambitious than the 2014 objective aimed at a reduction of 80-95% of emissions by 2050”.
The Luxembourg minister, Carole Dieschbourg, had just said that “the next hour of truth will be November. It is important for us that the Commission publishes an in-depth analysis of the various scenarios, including the 1.5 degree and net zero emissions, as well as a far-reaching analysis on the negative emissions that this implies”. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)