Commissioned by the governments in Paris in 2015, the special report by the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on the 1.5°C target in the Paris Agreement was hailed by all sides when it was published on Monday 8 October, as it shows it is still possible to avoid the worst consequences of future climate change for man, biodiversity and the environment, as long as a radical and swift transformation takes place in all sectors of the economy (see EUROPE 12111, 12106).
The European Commission is not the last to have applauded the report, immediately calling on the whole world to react. European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy Miguel Arias Cañete immediately tweeted: "we must raise our ambitions to combat climate change in line with the conclusions set out in the IPCC report, and today transform challenges into opportunities".
The publication of this scientific report coincides with the end of the public consultation process on the European Union’s long term strategy, expected in November (see EUROPE 12065).
In a joint press release, Cañete and his counterpart for research, Carlos Moedas, state that, by taking "the valuable input from the report into account, the Commission will work to present in November an EU strategy for long-term greenhouse gas emission reduction. It will be a comprehensive vision for the modernisation of our economy, our industries, and our financial sector. The EU will work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in-line with the Paris Agreement, and to make our economy more modern, innovative, competitive and resilient."
The draft strategy which was leaked to the press nonetheless sets out three options: - an 80% reduction in emissions by 2050, net zero emissions in 2070, and net zero emissions in 2050. This is far from the requirements highlighted in the report, according to the Climate Action Network-Europe (CAN Europe) organisation.
Wendel Trio, Director of Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe, said: "the strategy in its current shape is far off track to achieve 1.5°C. It is in a stark contrast with the urgency of action enshrined in the new IPCC report released today. The report made it crystal clear that staying below 1.5°C requires that global emissions drop to zero by 2050. Europe needs to reduce emissions much faster than the rest of the world, (...). Staying below 1.5°C means Europe needs to reach net zero emissions by 2040."
At a press conference organised in Brussels by CAN Europe on Monday, the Belgian professor, Jean-Pascal van Ypersele de Strihou, formerly IPCC vice-president, had stressed that "half a degree of warming makes a big difference" in terms of population exposed to extreme heat, loss of species (4% at a level of warming of 1.5°C compared to 8% at 2°C), and annual fisheries production. The report, he commented, states that the "highest priority is to get out of coal for electricity production".
The French authorities commended the report, saying in a press release: "the report underlines that all options preventing an increase of 1.5°C to be exceeded require major transformations, in all sectors of society and throughout the world, and it is essential to implement such changes rapidly. France has taken its responsibilities by fixing the ambitious objective of reaching carbon neutrality by 2050." (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)