The European Parliament today adopted its position on the EU 2030 climate target, calling for an increase to at least 60% emission cuts, excluding removals, a major step forward for EU’s climate ambition and its international leadership in the fight against climate change.
Though still too low for aligning the EU with the latest available science and the 1.5°C goal of the Paris Agreement, requiring the bloc to go for at least 65% emission cuts, the European Parliament’s position is a major improvement compared to the 55% proposal by the Commission.
Wendel Trio, director of Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe said: “The Parliament’s ambitious 2030 climate target proposal for the EU clearly drives the climate debate in the right direction. It contributes to bridging the gap between the call of science for at least 65% cuts and EU climate politics, showing that parliamentarians have been listening to the millions of citizens calling for much higher EU climate action throughout the previous year. This is obviously very good news for the EU but also for the world.”
EU leaders will start discussing the EU 2030 climate target next week at a European Council. The German presidency of the Council committed to an EU-wide agreement on the new target by the December European Council.
Trio added: “Member States must see the Parliament’s climate target proposal as a baseline that should be improved for the EU to honour its commitments under the Paris Agreement. The EU budget and recovery funds, with a strong emphasis on climate action, will also support fossil-fuel dependent regions in a just transition to clean economies. The higher the 2030 climate target Member States will agree on, the more opportunities to create green jobs and revive our economies.”
ENDS
Contact:
Nicolas Derobert, Head of communications, nicolas@caneurope.org, +32 483 62 18 88
Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe is Europe’s leading NGO coalition fighting dangerous climate change. With over 170 member organisations active in 38 European countries, representing over 1.500 NGOs and more than 47million citizens, CAN Europe promotes sustainable climate, energy and development policies throughout Europe.
