EU unveils low-carbon roadmap by 2050
"We need to start the transition towards a competitive low-carbon economy now. The longer we wait, the higher the cost will be," Connie Hedegaard, European Commissioner for Climate Action, said when presenting the roadmap to European Union (EU) lawmakers in Strasbourg, France.
The roadmap described the cost-effective pathway to reach the EU's objective of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent to 95 percent of the 1990 levels by 2050.
It recommended Europe should achieve it largely through domestic measures since by mid-century international credits to offset emissions will be less widely available than today.
Based on the results of a comprehensive economic modeling, the commission said cuts of the order of 40 percent and 60 percent below the 1990 levels should be achieved by 2030 and 2040 respectively in order to achieve an 80 percent "domestic" reduction by 2050.
It called on all sectors to contribute, warning current policies are projected to reduce domestic emissions to 30 percent in 2030 and 40 percent in 2050.
"All economic sectors need to contribute, including agriculture, construction and transport. By describing the cost-effective pathway to move Europe to a low-carbon future, our roadmap provides a clear and predictable framework for business and governments to prepare their low-carbon strategies and long-term investments," Hedegaard said.
The commission also suggested the EU should raise its target for emission cuts in 2020 to 25 percent, rather than 20 percent as agreed now.
The EU has made a unilateral commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent in 2020 from the 1990 levels, but it refused to raise the target unless other major economies take comparable efforts.
The roadmap laid emphasis on energy savings and green technologies for achieving reduction targets.
It was estimated that building a low-carbon EU economy would require, over the next 40 years, additional annual investment equivalent to 1.5 percent of EU gross domestic product (GDP), or 270 billion euros (378 billion U.S. dollars), in clean technologies, infrastructure such as "smart" electricity grids and environmental protection, on top of overall current investment of 19 percent of the GDP.
"On top of reducing Europe's dependence on energy imports, and thus our vulnerability to potential oil price shocks, the investment would stimulate new sources of growth, preserve existing jobs and create new ones," it said.
EU governments have agreed to reduce fossil fuel consumption by 20 percent in 2020. In order to achieve the energy savings goal, the commission proposed to set aside some of the emission allowances from the pool of allowances that is to be auctioned by the member states from 2013. Kazinform cites Xinhua. See www.xinhuanet.com for full version