Spending plans and target of 90% emissions reduction by 2040 appear in draft document
The EU must invest about €1.5tn a year between 2031 and 2050 to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 90 per cent by 2040 and meet its mid-century net zero target, Brussels has said.
The figures are part of a draft document from the European Commission, seen by the Financial Times, that sets out Brussels’ plan for slashing emissions and reaching “economy-wide climate neutrality” by 2050. The high level of investment would far outweigh the vast cost of inaction as the effects of global warming become increasingly apparent, the document said.
Keeping temperature rises to within 1.5C above pre-industrial levels could save the EU €2.4tn in economic losses between 2031 and 2050 and cut net costs of fossil fuel imports by €2.8tn over the same period, it added.
The new 90 per cent target, at the lower end of a range recommended by the EU’s scientific advisory board, is seen as a way to accelerate climate action as the economic damage from extreme weather events increases. Under the bloc’s climate law EU governments are committed to reducing emissions by 55 per cent by 2030 from 1990 levels, and reaching net zero by 2050.
Some areas of industry and agriculture argue that the requirements are too onerous amid high inflation and the after-effects of an energy crisis caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Farmers in particular have attacked environmental regulation, with protests spreading from the Netherlands to Belgium, Germany, France and Romania in recent weeks. Leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo called for a “pause” in climate legislation last year as the political implications of forcing consumers and businesses to change long-embedded habits fuelled fears of a backlash....
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