In September, CAN Europe, Climate Analytics, and CAN Europe’s member AirClim, published the “1.5°C pathways for the EU27: accelerating climate action to deliver the Paris Agreement” report, showing that the EU could reach net zero emissions by 2040.
CAN Europe “called on the EU to reduce emissions even faster and aim for 63 percent to 73 percent excluding LULUCF in order to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. The bloc could do so (…) by ramping up electrification, by deploying renewables and green hydrogen more quickly, and by taking more ambitious measures to reduce energy demand”. CAN Europe, Politico
The 1.5°C pathways for the EU27 report reveals it is possible to achieve 65% cuts in greenhouse gases by 2030 and net zero emissions by 2040 in the EU.
The study finds that to limit the temperature rise to 1.5°C, the EU’s fair contribution should be to reduce its emissions by at least 65% by 2030.
The report, based on the key assumptions of the Paris Agreement Compatible
(PAC) energy scenario (2020), displays how higher climate ambition is technically and economically feasible if the EU rapidly upscales renewable energy over the coming decades, with wind and solar as the cornerstone of the energy transition.
In the pathways assessed in the report, the EU27 can achieve close to 100% fossil-free electricity production by 2035. The transition to a more electrified and efficient energy system, coupled with behavioural and societal change, leads to strong reductions in final energy demand. This enables the rapid phase out of fossil fuels from the energy system, with renewables replacing it together with energy efficiency and savings measures.
