With current measures, Europe will probably not reach its climate targets for 2030. This conclusion was reached yesterday by the European Court of Auditors. According to the Court of Auditors, the fact that the targets were met in 2020 was mainly a matter of luck.
The European Court of Auditors did not look at all the measures individually, but mainly looked at how the objectives are achieved and how they are analysed. This leads to the conclusion that there is currently not enough change to meet the 2030 targets. “They looked at how Europe met its 2020 climate targets,” says Bas Eickhout, MEP for GroenLinks. “And then they come to the conclusion that there was a lot of luck, for example, we had a euro crisis and a corona crisis.”
Eickhout calls the Court’s report a “good reality check”. After meeting the targets in 2020, the European Commission in Brussels had sent a jubilant press release, but according to Eickhout had not adequately analyzed what benefits came from the policy and what was luck. “If you don’t do it right, you may wonder if we will make it before 2030. This is effectively what the Court of Auditors does”.
Emissions trading
According to Eickhout, the conclusions of the Court of Auditors are a valid warning to the European Commission to work more on climate objectives, and therefore also on the way in which the effect of the measures is analysed.
According to him, the greatest profit in Europe can be obtained in sectors that are not covered by emissions trading and where it is therefore up to the countries. ‘This is transportation and the built environment and agriculture. For these sectors we depend on the national policies of 27 countries. That’s definitely the biggest concern,” says Eickhout.
Polders
According to Eickhout, the time has come to make tough choices if we are to meet the 2030 climate goals. According to Eickhout, to really bring about change, it is therefore important not to get stuck in ‘poldering’ until all parties agree. agreement. “If this attitude stays through 2030, then I think we have a really big problem.”
According to the Court of Auditors, the easy climate targets have been achieved and we are now entering a phase where the targets are becoming more demanding and involve major changes in sectors. “It’s going to hurt more now, so it’s going to be a really emotional time.”
Source: BNR
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