Europe's new climate policy seeks to reduce emissions within a decade

The European Union is reportedly looking to forge ahead with climate policy action among the worlds largest greenhouse gas emitters, with a slew of plans to drastically reduce the emission rates by 2030.

Once approved, the policies will enable the world's third-largest economy to meet its ambitious goal of cutting emissions by 55% of 1990 levels, by the end of the decade.

Notably, the ‘Fit for 55’ package will be launched this week and is expected to go through months of negotiations between the European Parliament and 27 EU countries.

The world's two top emitters, the United States and China, also intend to achieve net-zero emissions, which experts believe the world must reach by 2050 to prevent catastrophic climate change.

Nevertheless, the EU has spearheaded the initiative to overhaul legislation to cultivate greener choices within this decade among its o.5 billion population base, and approximately 25 million businesses.

It is also worth mentioning that by 2019, the EU had reduced its emission rates by 24% as compared to 1990 levels. While current emissions from Europe's electricity segment are dropping at a fast pace, other areas have been struggling to improve.

The European Commission is set to propose 12 policies targeting transport, energy, industry, and building heating systems, sources claimed.

Frans Timmermans, the EU Commissioner overseeing the climate policy, was quoted saying that the economy will look a lot better at the end of the transformation, while also bringing the climate crisis under control.

Meanwhile, the proposals have created rifts between wealthier EU and Nordic states where EV sales are on the rise, and their poorer eastern counterparts that are concerned about the economic implications of weaning their industries off coal, cited sources close to the matter.

Source Links –

https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/europes-climate-masterplan-aims-slash-emissions-within-decade-2021-07-12/