Wednesday 16 September 2020, London: European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen has today proposed an EU target of a 55% reduction in emissions by 2030.
Responding to the new Commission proposal, Helen Clarkson, CEO of international non-profit the Climate Group, highlighted the strong support for the target from European regions and businesses, and measures that the EU still needs to take to make it a reality:
"This more ambitious target is supported by Europe's leading regions on climate action, all members of the Under2 Coalition, encompassing 55 million European citizens and €2 trillion GDP, as well as major multinationals we work with in our RE100, EP100 and EV100 clean, smart, energy and transport programmes.
"A stronger European climate target is critical to the EU's global leadership role and unlocking greater ambition from other countries ahead of next year's crucial COP26 summit. EU member states need to reach an agreement by the end of the year to give businesses and regions the policy and investment certainty they need. This will fire the starting gun on bold, ambitious green economic recovery for the European economy.
"Three steps we think the EU could take now to deliver on this target and drive jobs and growth, are:
- Mandate that all new cars and vans sold across the whole of the EU to be 100% electric by 2035
- Set a target and invest to triple of the rate of energy efficiency renovations for existing buildings
- Ensure all Member States introduce plans to enable direct corporate sourcing of renewable energy."
